interjection

/ɪn.təˈdʒɛk.ʃən/

//ɪn.təˈdʒɛk.ʃən// noun

"interjection" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“interjection” is uncommon English (frequency #78,718 among 17,902 “I” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,718
frequency rank, English
17,902
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An exclamation or filled pause; a word or phrase with no particular grammatical relation to a sentence, often an expression of emotion.

Key facts for interjection
PropertyValue
Headwordinterjection
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪn.təˈdʒɛk.ʃən/
Letters12
Frequency rank#78,718
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “interjection” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). interjection lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

interjection is uncommon English at frequency #78,718 among 17,902 “I” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɪn.təˈdʒɛk.ʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for interjection, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English interjeccioun, from Old French interjection (13th century), from Latin interiectiōnem, accusative singular of interiectiō (“throwing or placing between; interjection”), perfect passive participle of intericiō (“throw or place between”), … The correct English form is interjection, spelled I-N-T-E-R-J-E-C-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    An exclamation or filled pause; a word or phrase with no particular grammatical relation to a sentence, often an expression of emotion.
  2. 2
    An interruption; something interjected

Etymology

From Middle English interjeccioun, from Old French interjection (13th century), from Latin interiectiōnem, accusative singular of interiectiō (“throwing or placing between; interjection”), perfect passive participle of intericiō (“throw or place between”), from inter (“between”) + iaciō (“throw”). Displaced Old English betwēoxāworpennes (literally “between-thrown-out-ness”), a calque of the Latin.

Synonyms

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 "interjection"?
"interjection" is spelled I-N-T-E-R-J-E-C-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪn.təˈdʒɛk.ʃən/.
What does "interjection" mean?
As a noun, "interjection" means: An exclamation or filled pause; a word or phrase with no particular grammatical relation to a sentence, often an expression of emotion.
How do you pronounce "interjection"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "interjection" is /ɪn.təˈdʒɛk.ʃən/. 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 "interjection"?
From Middle English interjeccioun, from Old French interjection (13th century), from Latin interiectiōnem, accusative singular of interiectiō (“throwing or placing between; interjection”), perfect passive participle of intericiō (“throw or place b... 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.

Using “interjection”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is I-N-T-E-R-J-E-C-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ɪn.təˈdʒɛk.ʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list