instigation
in·sti·ga·tion/ˌɪnstɪˈɡeɪʃən/noun
instigation is spelled I-N-S-T-I-G-A-T-I-O-N: 11 letters and 4 syllables (in·sti·ga·tion). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, instigation means “The act of instigating, or the state of being instigated; incitement; especially to evil or wickedness” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of instigation is instigations.
How many letters and syllables are in instigation?
| Letters | 11: I-N-S-T-I-G-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: in·sti·ga·tion |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 44,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is instigation?
Instigation appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce instigation?
- /ˌɪnstɪˈɡeɪʃən/
Instigation has 4 syllables, split in·sti·ga·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-instigation.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of instigation
- instigations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does instigation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of instigating, or the state of being instigated; incitement; especially to evil or wickedness.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Instigation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense act of instigating:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | instigation |
| German | Anstiftung, Aufwiegelung |
| Spanish | instigación |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does instigation come from?
From Middle English instigacioun, from Old French instigacïon and Latin instīgātio.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).