insult
/ɪnˈsʌlt/
"insult" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“insult” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,240 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #7,240
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 12
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To be insensitive, insolent, or rude to (somebody); to affront or demean (someone).
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | insult |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɪnˈsʌlt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #7,240 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 12 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “insult” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for insult is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪnˈsʌlt/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,240 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for insult, with forms such as "innsult", "inslut", and "inssult". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "Inuit", "insure", "insults", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is derived from Middle French insulter (modern French insulter (“to insult”)) or its etymon Latin īnsultō (“to spring, leap or jump at or upon; to abuse, insult, revile, taunt”), the frequentative form of īnsiliō (“to bound; to leap in or upon”), f… The correct English form is insult, spelled I-N-S-U-L-T.
Definition
- 1To be insensitive, insolent, or rude to (somebody); to affront or demean (someone).
- 2To assail, assault, or attack; (specifically, military) to carry out an assault, attack, or onset without preparation.
- 3To behave in an obnoxious and superior manner (against or over someone).
- 4To leap or trample upon.
Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle French insulter (modern French insulter (“to insult”)) or its etymon Latin īnsultō (“to spring, leap or jump at or upon; to abuse, insult, revile, taunt”), the frequentative form of īnsiliō (“to bound; to leap in or upon”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside, within’) + saliō (“to bound, jump, leap; to spring forth; to flow down”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sel- (“to spring”)). The noun is derived from Middle French insult (modern French insulte (“insult”)) or its etymon Late Latin insultus (“insult, reviling, scoffing”), from īnsiliō (“to bound; to leap in or upon”); see above.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: innsult,inslut,inssult,insullt,insultt,insutl,inuslt,isnult,nisult
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of insult - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 “insult”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-S-U-L-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪnˈsʌlt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Inuit” - see the side-by-side comparison. insult vs Inuit
- 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.