insult
/ɪnˈsʌlt/
"insult" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“insult” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,240. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #7,240
- frequency rank, English
- 2,140
- “I” headwords
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 12
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To be insensitive, insolent, or rude to (somebody); to affront or demean (someone).
Corpus desk
Index EN-insult · insult · English
insult · rank #7,240 · 9 variants · 12 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #7,240
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
- VAR-MID 9 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,140
- PHOTO-FINISH instrumental
Nearest frequency peer: instrumental (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “insult”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- injection
injection
92,763 corpus weight
- instrumental
instrumental
92,762 corpus weight
- insult
insult
92,761 corpus weight
- interference
interference
92,760 corpus weight
- interstate
interstate
92,759 corpus weight
- Julian
Julian
92,758 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “insult” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 9 spelling variants around insult (IPA /ɪnˈsʌlt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #7,240 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
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.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how insult appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
- Marvel owns your gods! - Insulting is not arguing.
And why I pray you? who might be your mother That you inſult, exult, and all at once Ouer the wretched?
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "insult", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "insult". Here's where to go from here.
- "insult" maps to 12 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Inuit". View pair
- 9 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #7,240 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "I" letter cohort. I–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.