English Word Reference Free

infrequent

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

10 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

open dictionary

Access

Free

no sign-up needed

Detailed reference entry for the English word "infrequent", 10-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "infrequent" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "infrequent" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

infrequent is anEnglishadj. It means: Not frequent; not happening frequently. Often confused with infrequently.

Key facts for infrequent
PropertyValue
Headwordinfrequent
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdj
Letters10
Frequency rank#29,319
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of infrequent in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for infrequent is 10 letters long, classified as anadj. Corpus data places it at rank #29,319 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Not frequent; not happening frequently.".

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 15 documented wrong-spelling variants for infrequent, with forms such as "ifnrequent", "inferquent", and "inffrequent". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "infrequently", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From in- + frequent. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is infrequent, spelled I-N-F-R-E-Q-U-E-N-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Not frequent; not happening frequently.

Etymology

From in- + frequent.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ifnrequent,inferquent,inffrequent,infreqeunt,infreqquent,infrequennt,infrequentt,infrequetn,infrequnet,infreuqent,infrqeuent,infrrequent,innfrequent,inrfequent,nifrequent

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for infrequent

Misspelling Variants of "infrequent"

ifnrequent10inferquent10inffrequent11infreqeunt10infreqquent11infrequennt11infrequentt11infrequetn10
Misspelling Variants of "infrequent"

Frequency rank: #29,319 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "infrequent"?
"infrequent" is spelled I-N-F-R-E-Q-U-E-N-T.
What does "infrequent" mean?
As an adj, "infrequent" means: Not frequent; not happening frequently.
What words are commonly confused with "infrequent"?
"infrequent" is commonly confused with "infrequently". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "infrequent"?
From in- + frequent. 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter I in our English index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.