infection

/ɪnˈfɛkʃən/

//ɪnˈfɛkʃən// noun

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

"infection" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“infection” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,093. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,093
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act or process of infecting.

Corpus desk

Index EN-infection · infection · English

infection · rank #4,093 · 14 variants · 15 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,093
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 15 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH Instagram

Nearest frequency peer: Instagram (+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 “infection”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “infection” 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).

infection vs intention
78% similar
infection vs inflation
78% similar
infection vs invention
78% similar

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

Key facts for infection
PropertyValue
Headwordinfection
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪnˈfɛkʃən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#4,093
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “infection”

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).infectionlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Instagram” (#4,094), “guidance” (#4,091), “intention” (#4,095). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “infection” is #4,093. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around infection (IPA /ɪnˈfɛkʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,093 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for infection, with forms such as "ifnection", "inefction", and "infcetion". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 15 confusable-pair relationships, "intention", "inflation", "invention", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French infection, from Late Latin īnfectiō. Equivalent to infect + -ion. The correct English form is infection, spelled I-N-F-E-C-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act or process of infecting.
  2. 2
    An uncontrolled growth of harmful microorganisms in a host.
  3. 3
    A disease caused by such presence of a pathogen.
  4. 4
    A visible sign of such a disease, such as the suppuration of a wound.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic[…]real kidneys[…]. But they are nothing like as efficient, and can cause bleeding, clotting and infection—not to mention inconvenience for patients, who typically need to be hooked up to one three times a week for hours at a time.
  2. As the previously used chemotherapeutic agents have only proved themselves to be spirochetostatic and not spirochetocidal, the patient is liable to a delayed infection which may not become manifest for years.

Etymology

From Old French infection, from Late Latin īnfectiō. Equivalent to infect + -ion.

This word in other languages

infección(Español)infection(Français)Ansteckung(Deutsch)infecção(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ifnection
  • inefction
  • infcetion
  • infecction
  • infeciton
  • infecsion
  • infectino
  • infectionn
  • infectoin
  • infecttion
  • infetcion
  • inffection
  • innfection
  • nifection

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of infection - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ifnection2inefction2infcetion2infecction1infeciton2infecsion1infectino2infectionn1
Edit distance from "infection"

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 "infection"?
"infection" is spelled I-N-F-E-C-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪnˈfɛkʃən/.
What does "infection" mean?
As a noun, "infection" means: The act or process of infecting.
What words are commonly confused with "infection"?
"infection" is commonly confused with "intention", "inflation", "invention". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "infection"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "infection" is /ɪnˈfɛkʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "infection"?
From Old French infection, from Late Latin īnfectiō. Equivalent to infect + -ion. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 "infection", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Instagram#4,094intention#4,095pregnancy#4,105preparing#4,107

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

difficulty14 variantsprominent14 variantsdefending14 variantscomputers14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list