infirm
/ɪnˈfɜɹm/adjective, verb
infirm is spelled I-N-F-I-R-M: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, infirm means “Weak or ill, not in good health” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in infirm?
| Letters | 6: I-N-F-I-R-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 46,473rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is infirm?
Infirm appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd 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 infirm?
- UK /ɪnˈfɜːm/
- US /ɪnˈfɜɹm/
Infirm has 2 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)-Vealhurl-infirm.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with infirm?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as infirm from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹm/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of infirm
- infirmer comparative
- infirmest superlative
- infirms present, singular, he/she/it
- infirming participle, present
- infirmed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does infirm mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Weak or ill, not in good health.
He was infirm of body but still keen of mind, and though it looked like he couldn't walk across the room, he crushed me in debate.
- 2
Irresolute; weak of mind or will.
- 3
Frail; unstable; insecure.
verb
- 1
To contradict, to provide proof that something is not.
The thought is that you see an episode of observation, experiment, or reasoning as confirming or infirming a hypothesis depending on whether the probability of it being correct increases or decreases during the episode.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Infirm in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | infirme , infirmer |
| German | schwach, schwächlich, kränklich, gebrechlich, siech, kraftlos |
| Portuguese | enfermo, combalido |
| Spanish | enfermizo, endeble , infirmar , inseguro |
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.