insolation

/ˌɪnsoʊˈleɪʃən/

//ˌɪnsoʊˈleɪʃən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"insolation" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“insolation” is uncommon English (frequency #90,579 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#90,579
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The incident radiant energy emitted by the sun which reaches a unit area over a period of time, typically measured over a horizontal area at the Earth's surface or at the top of Earth's atmosphere.

Corpus desk

Index EN-insolation · insolation · English

insolation · rank #90,579 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #90,579
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH infuriatingly

Nearest frequency peer: infuriatingly (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “insolation”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “insolation” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for insolation
PropertyValue
Headwordinsolation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌɪnsoʊˈleɪʃən/
Letters10
Frequency rank#90,579
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “insolation” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).insolationfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “infuriatingly” (#90,577), “interlace” (#90,581), “interrelationship” (#90,583). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “insolation” is #90,579. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

insolation is uncommon English at frequency #90,579 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌɪnsoʊˈleɪʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for insolation, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French insolation, from Latin insolatio (“a setting or placing in the sun”). The correct English form is insolation, spelled I-N-S-O-L-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The incident radiant energy emitted by the sun which reaches a unit area over a period of time, typically measured over a horizontal area at the Earth's surface or at the top of Earth's atmosphere.
  2. 2
    The rate of delivery of such radiation.
  3. 3
    The act or process of exposing to the rays of the sun, such as for the purpose of medical treatment, drying or maturing, as fruits, drugs, etc., or of rendering acid, as vinegar.
  4. 4
    sunstroke.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how insolation appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The difference in insolation between north-facing and south-facing slopes can affect microclimates as much as hundreds of miles of north-south distance on level ground.

Etymology

Borrowed from French insolation, from Latin insolatio (“a setting or placing in the sun”).

Synonyms

sunbath

This word in other languages

insolación(Español)

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 "insolation"?
"insolation" is spelled I-N-S-O-L-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɪnsoʊˈleɪʃən/.
What does "insolation" mean?
As a noun, "insolation" means: The incident radiant energy emitted by the sun which reaches a unit area over a period of time, typically measured over a horizontal area at the Earth's surface or at the top of Earth's atmosphere.
How do you pronounce "insolation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "insolation" is /ˌɪnsoʊˈleɪʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "insolation"?
Borrowed from French insolation, from Latin insolatio (“a setting or placing in the sun”). 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "insolation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

invertible#90,584Hicksville#90,540hepatocyte#90,539laparotomy#90,645

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list