instar
/ˈɪnstɑː/
"instar" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“instar” is uncommon English (frequency #63,705 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #63,705
- frequency rank, English
- 2,140
- “I” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any one of the several stages of postembryonic development which an arthropod undergoes, between molts, before it reaches sexual maturity.
Corpus desk
Index EN-instar · instar · English
instar · rank #63,705 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #63,705
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,140
- PHOTO-FINISH intergroup
Nearest frequency peer: intergroup (+1 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 “instar”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- imperil
imperil
36,300 corpus weight
- indelibly
indelibly
36,298 corpus weight
- instar
instar
36,296 corpus weight
- intergroup
intergroup
36,295 corpus weight
- inveterate
inveterate
36,294 corpus weight
- Ipanema
Ipanema
36,293 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “instar” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | instar |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɪnstɑː/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #63,705 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “instar” in English
Rare enough to double-check
instar is uncommon English at frequency #63,705 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɪnstɑː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
instar doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin instar (“form, likeness”), which is of obscure origin. The correct English form is instar, spelled I-N-S-T-A-R.
Definition
- 1Any one of the several stages of postembryonic development which an arthropod undergoes, between molts, before it reaches sexual maturity.
- 2An arthropod at a specified one of these stages of development.
- 3A stage in development.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how instar appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
In A. orientalis, first and second instars were more susceptible than third instars to H. bacteriophora TF strain, […]
We avoided Tourist Homes, country cousins of Funeral ones, old-fashioned, genteel and showerless, with elaborate dressing tables in depressingly white-and-pink little bedrooms, and photographs of the landlady’s children in all their instars.
Etymology
From Latin instar (“form, likeness”), which is of obscure origin.
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
How do you spell "instar"?
What does "instar" mean?
How do you pronounce "instar"?
What is the origin of the word "instar"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "instar", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).