infirmary
/ɪnˈfɝməɹi/
"infirmary" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“infirmary” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #18,588 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #18,588
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A place where sick or injured people are cared for, especially a small hospital; sickhouse.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | infirmary |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɪnˈfɝməɹi/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #18,588 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “infirmary” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for infirmary is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪnˈfɝməɹi/. Corpus data places it at rank #18,588 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for infirmary, with forms such as "ifnirmary", "inffirmary", and "infimrary". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Medieval Latin infirmaria, from Latin infirmus. The correct English form is infirmary, spelled I-N-F-I-R-M-A-R-Y.
Definition
- 1A place where sick or injured people are cared for, especially a small hospital; sickhouse.
- 2A clinic or dispensary within another institution.
Etymology
From Medieval Latin infirmaria, from Latin infirmus.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ifnirmary,inffirmary,infimrary,infiramry,infirmarry,infirmaryy,infirmayr,infirmmary,infirmray,infirrmary,infrimary,inifrmary,innfirmary,nifirmary
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of infirmary - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "infirmary"?
What does "infirmary" mean?
What are common misspellings of "infirmary"?
How do you pronounce "infirmary"?
What is the origin of the word "infirmary"?
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Using “infirmary”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-F-I-R-M-A-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪnˈfɝməɹi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.