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instruction

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

Letters

11 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "instruction", 11-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 "instruction" 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 "instruction" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

instruction is aEnglishnoun. It means: The act of instructing, teaching, or providing with information or knowledge. Pronounced /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/. It ranks #5,696 in English word frequency. Often confused with instructor and instructive.

Key facts for instruction
PropertyValue
Headwordinstruction
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/
Letters11
Frequency rank#5,696
Misspellings tracked18
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

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

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for instruction is 11 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,696 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 18 documented wrong-spelling variants for instruction, with forms such as "innstruction", "insrtuction", and "insstruction". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "instructor", "instructive", "instructions", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English instruccioun, from Old French instruccion, from Latin instructio; equivalent to instruct + -ion. 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 instruction, spelled I-N-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-O-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of instructing, teaching, or providing with information or knowledge.
  2. 2
    An instance of the information or knowledge so furnished.
  3. 3
    An order or command.
  4. 4
    A set of directions provided by a manufacturer for the users of a product or service.
  5. 5
    The directions given by a client to their lawyer in relation to a particular legal matter, which govern the purpose and scope of their work.
  6. 6
    A single operation of a processor defined by an instruction set architecture.

Etymology

From Middle English instruccioun, from Old French instruccion, from Latin instructio; equivalent to instruct + -ion.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: innstruction,insrtuction,insstruction,instrcution,instrruction,instrucction,instruciton,instrucsion,instructino,instructionn,instructoin,instructtion,instrutcion,insttruction,insturction,intsruction,isntruction,nistruction

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for instruction

Misspelling Variants of "instruction"

innstruction12insrtuction11insstruction12instrcution11instrruction12instrucction12instruciton11instrucsion11
Misspelling Variants of "instruction"

Frequency rank: #5,696 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "instruction"?
"instruction" is spelled I-N-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/.
What does "instruction" mean?
As a noun, "instruction" means: The act of instructing, teaching, or providing with information or knowledge.
What words are commonly confused with "instruction"?
"instruction" is commonly confused with "instructor", "instructive", "instructions". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "instruction"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "instruction" is /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/. 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 "instruction"?
From Middle English instruccioun, from Old French instruccion, from Latin instructio; equivalent to instruct + -ion. 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:

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