infiltration

/ɪnfɪlˈtɹeɪʃən/

//ɪnfɪlˈtɹeɪʃən// noun

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

"infiltration" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“infiltration” has 19 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,245. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#21,245
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
19
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act or process of infiltrating, as of water into a porous substance, or of a fluid into the cells of an organ or part of the body.

Corpus desk

Index EN-infiltration · infiltration · English

infiltration · rank #21,245 · 19 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #21,245
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 19 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH insidious

Nearest frequency peer: insidious (+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 “infiltration”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “infiltration” 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
Key facts for infiltration
PropertyValue
Headwordinfiltration
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪnfɪlˈtɹeɪʃən/
Letters12
Frequency rank#21,245
Misspellings tracked19
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “infiltration”

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).infiltrationlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “insidious” (#21,246), “intimately” (#21,247), “ifs” (#21,242). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “infiltration” is #21,245. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 19 spelling variants around infiltration (IPA /ɪnfɪlˈtɹeɪʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #21,245 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for infiltration, with forms such as "ifniltration", "inffiltration", and "infilltration". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English infiltracioun, from Medieval Latin infiltrātiōnem, infiltrātiō. By surface analysis, infiltrat(e) + -ion. The correct English form is infiltration, spelled I-N-F-I-L-T-R-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act or process of infiltrating, as of water into a porous substance, or of a fluid into the cells of an organ or part of the body.
  2. 2
    The act or process of infiltrating, as of water into a porous substance, or of a fluid into the cells of an organ or part of the body.
  3. 3
    The substance which has entered the pores or cavities of a body.
  4. 4
    The act of secretly entering a physical location and/or organization.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. calcareous infiltrations filling the cavities
  2. No one should be under any illusions about the objective of the Communist Party leadership: it’s long-term, systematic infiltration of social organisations, media and government. By the time China’s infiltration of Australia is readily apparent, it will be too late.

Etymology

From Middle English infiltracioun, from Medieval Latin infiltrātiōnem, infiltrātiō. By surface analysis, infiltrat(e) + -ion.

This word in other languages

filtración(Español)infiltration(Français)Infiltration(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ifniltration
  • inffiltration
  • infilltration
  • infilrtation
  • infiltartion
  • infiltraiton
  • infiltrasion
  • infiltratino
  • infiltrationn
  • infiltratoin
  • infiltrattion
  • infiltrration
  • infiltrtaion
  • infilttration
  • infitlration
  • inflitration
  • inifltration
  • innfiltration
  • nifiltration

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of infiltration - 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.

ifniltration2inffiltration1infilltration1infilrtation2infiltartion2infiltraiton2infiltrasion1infiltratino2
Edit distance from "infiltration"

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 "infiltration"?
"infiltration" is spelled I-N-F-I-L-T-R-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪnfɪlˈtɹeɪʃən/.
What does "infiltration" mean?
As a noun, "infiltration" means: The act or process of infiltrating, as of water into a porous substance, or of a fluid into the cells of an organ or part of the body.
What are common misspellings of "infiltration"?
Common misspellings include "ifniltration", "inffiltration", "infilltration", "infilrtation", "infiltartion". The correct spelling is "infiltration".
How do you pronounce "infiltration"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "infiltration" is /ɪnfɪlˈtɹeɪʃən/. 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 "infiltration"?
From Middle English infiltracioun, from Medieval Latin infiltrātiōnem, infiltrātiō. By surface analysis, infiltrat(e) + -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 "infiltration", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

housekeeping#21,240malnutrition#21,268fluorescence#21,213prerequisite#21,320

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (19 here; floor ≥5).

mathematician19 variantsconscientious19 variantsgubernatorial19 variantsdeteriorating19 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list