infection
/ɪnˈfɛkʃən/noun
infection is spelled I-N-F-E-C-T-I-O-N: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 21 times per million words in written English, the 4,076th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, infection means “The act or process of infecting” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of infection is infections.
How many letters and syllables are in infection?
| Letters | 9: I-N-F-E-C-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 21 times per million words; the 4,076th 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 infection?
Infection appears 21 times per million words in written English, the 4,076th 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 infection?
- /ɪnˈfɛkʃən/
Infection has 3 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)-Wodencafe-infection.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-infection.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of infection
- infections plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does infection mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act or process of infecting.
- 2
An uncontrolled growth of harmful microorganisms in a host.
- 3
A disease caused by such presence of a pathogen.
- 4
A visible sign of such a disease, such as the suppuration of a wound.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Infection in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the process of infecting:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | infection |
| German | Ansteckung, Infektion |
| Portuguese | infecção, infeccionamento |
| Spanish | infección, infición |
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 infection come from?
From Old French infection, from Late Latin īnfectiō. Equivalent to infect + -ion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).