insinuation
/ɪnˌsɪnjuˈeɪʃən/
"insinuation" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“insinuation” is an uncommon English word, ranked #52,404 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #52,404
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act or process of insinuating; a creeping, winding, or flowing in.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | insinuation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɪnˌsɪnjuˈeɪʃən/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #52,404 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “insinuation” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for insinuation is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪnˌsɪnjuˈeɪʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #52,404 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for insinuation, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French insinuation, from Old French, from Latin insinuatio, from īnsinuō (“to push in, creep in, steal in”), from in (“in”) + sinus (“a winding, bend, bay, fold, bosom”). The correct English form is insinuation, spelled I-N-S-I-N-U-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act or process of insinuating; a creeping, winding, or flowing in.
- 2The act of gaining favor, affection, or influence, by gentle or artful means; — formerly used in a good sense, as of friendly influence or interposition.
- 3The art or power of gaining good will by a prepossessing manner.
- 4That which is insinuated; a hint; a suggestion, innuendo or intimation by distant allusion
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French insinuation, from Old French, from Latin insinuatio, from īnsinuō (“to push in, creep in, steal in”), from in (“in”) + sinus (“a winding, bend, bay, fold, bosom”).
This word in other languages
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 “insinuation”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-S-I-N-U-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪnˌsɪnjuˈeɪʃən/ (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.