infect
/ɪnˈfɛkt/verb, adjective
infect is spelled I-N-F-E-C-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 18,064th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, infect means “To bring (the body or part of it) into contact with a substance that causes illness (a pathogen), so that the pathogen begins to act on the body; (of…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in infect?
| Letters | 6: I-N-F-E-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.3 times per million words; the 18,064th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is infect?
Infect appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 18,064th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce infect?
- /ɪnˈfɛkt/
As an adjective (“Representing an action not yet completed”): /ˈɪnfɛkt/.
Infect has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-infect.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-infect2.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of infect
- infects present, singular, he/she/it
- infecting participle, present
- infected participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does infect mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To bring (the body or part of it) into contact with a substance that causes illness (a pathogen), so that the pathogen begins to act on the body; (of a pathogen) to come into contact with (a body or body part) and begin to act on it.
Not everyone will be infected when an epidemic strikes.
- 2
To contaminate (an object or substance) with a pathogen.
- 3
To make somebody enthusiastic about one's own passion, or to communicate a feeling to others, or a feeling communicating itself to others.
Her passion for dancing has infected me.
- 4
Of a computer virus: to insert its own code into (another executable file).
adjective
- 1
obsoleteInfected.
- 2
rareRepresenting an action not yet completed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Infect in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | infecter |
| German | anstecken, infizieren |
| Portuguese | infectar, contagiar |
| Spanish | infectar, contagiar, inficionar , alborotar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does infect come from?
From Middle French infect, from Latin infectus, perfect passive participle of inficiō (“dye, taint”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).