informal
/ɪnˈfɔɹm(ə)l/
"informal" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“informal” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,682 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #8,682
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Not formal or ceremonious.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | informal |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɪnˈfɔɹm(ə)l/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #8,682 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “informal” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for informal is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪnˈfɔɹm(ə)l/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,682 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for informal, with forms such as "ifnormal", "infformal", and "infomral". 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. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "informed", "informer", "informant", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From in- + formal. The correct English form is informal, spelled I-N-F-O-R-M-A-L.
Definition
- 1Not formal or ceremonious.
- 2Not in accord with the usual regulations.
- 3Suited for everyday use.
- 4Reflecting everyday, non-ceremonious usage.
- 5Not organized; not structured or planned.
Etymology
From in- + formal.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ifnormal,infformal,infomral,inforaml,informall,informla,informmal,inforrmal,infromal,innformal,inofrmal,niformal
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of informal - 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.
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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Using “informal”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-F-O-R-M-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪnˈfɔɹm(ə)l/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “informed” - see the side-by-side comparison. informal vs informed
- 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.