infest
/ɪnˈfɛst/
"infest" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“infest” is uncommon English (frequency #50,592 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #50,592
- frequency rank, English
- 2,140
- “I” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To inhabit a place in unpleasantly large numbers; to plague, harass.
Corpus desk
Index EN-infest · infest · English
infest · rank #50,592 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #50,592
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,140
- PHOTO-FINISH incipient
Nearest frequency peer: incipient (-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.
Long-tail ranks near “infest”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- impresario
impresario
49,413 corpus weight
- imps
imps
49,412 corpus weight
- incineration
incineration
49,411 corpus weight
- incipient
incipient
49,410 corpus weight
- infest
infest
49,409 corpus weight
- innards
innards
49,407 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “infest” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | infest |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɪnˈfɛst/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #50,592 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “infest” in English
Rare enough to double-check
infest is uncommon English at frequency #50,592 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ɪnˈfɛst/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
infest has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English infesten, from Old French infester (“to infest”), from Latin īnfestō (“assail, molest”, verb), from īnfestus (“hostile”). The correct English form is infest, spelled I-N-F-E-S-T.
Definition
- 1To inhabit a place in unpleasantly large numbers; to plague, harass.
- 2To invade a host plant or animal.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how infest appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Insects are infesting my basement!
Sir, my liege, Do not infest your mind with beating on The strangeness of this business; at pick’d leisure Which shall be shortly, I’ll resolve you, Which to you shall seem probable, of every These happen’d accidents; till when, be cheerful And think of each thing well.
Etymology
From Middle English infesten, from Old French infester (“to infest”), from Latin īnfestō (“assail, molest”, verb), from īnfestus (“hostile”).
This word in other languages
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "infest", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).