infected

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"infected" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“infected” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,803. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,803
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past and past participle of infect

Corpus desk

Index EN-infected · infected · English

infected · rank #5,803 · 12 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,803
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH iconic

Nearest frequency peer: iconic (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “infected”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “infected” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

infected vs invested
75% similar
infected vs invented
75% similar
infected vs inserted
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for infected
PropertyValue
Headwordinfected
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters8
Frequency rank#5,803
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “infected”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).infectedlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “iconic” (#5,802), “keen” (#5,804), “HP” (#5,801). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “infected” is #5,803. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around infected, averb. Corpus frequency is #5,803 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Dominant gloss: "simple past and past participle of infect".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for infected, with forms such as "ifnected", "inefcted", and "infceted". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "invested", "invented", "inserted", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is infected, spelled I-N-F-E-C-T-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of infect

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how infected appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Slowly, the strange alien virus infected the whole town.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ifnected
  • inefcted
  • infceted
  • infeccted
  • infecetd
  • infectde
  • infectedd
  • infectted
  • infetced
  • inffected
  • innfected
  • nifected

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of infected - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ifnected2inefcted2infceted2infeccted1infecetd2infectde2infectedd1infectted1
Edit distance from "infected"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "infected"?
"infected" is spelled I-N-F-E-C-T-E-D.
What does "infected" mean?
As a verb, "infected" means: simple past and past participle of infect
What words are commonly confused with "infected"?
"infected" is commonly confused with "invested", "invented", "inserted". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "infected" come from?
"infected" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "infected", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

homework#5,799goodness#5,795flexible#5,792engaging#5,788

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

permitted12 variantscourtesy12 variantsboundary12 variantsadjacent12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list