inundation

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"inundation" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“inundation” is uncommon English (frequency #55,519 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,519
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of inundating; an overflow; a flood; a rising and spreading of water over grounds.

Corpus desk

Index EN-inundation · inundation · English

inundation · rank #55,519 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #55,519
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH isomer

Nearest frequency peer: isomer (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “inundation”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “inundation” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for inundation
PropertyValue
Headwordinundation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Frequency rank#55,519
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “inundation” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).inundationfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “isomer” (#55,520), “Italiana” (#55,521), “ingrown” (#55,516). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “inundation” is #55,519. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

inundation is uncommon English at frequency #55,519 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for inundation, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French inundacion (“flood”) (French inondation), from Latin inundatio (“flood”), form of inundō (“I flood, overflow”) (English inundate). By surface analysis, inundat(e) + -ion. The correct English form is inundation, spelled I-N-U-N-D-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of inundating; an overflow; a flood; a rising and spreading of water over grounds.
  2. 2
    The state of being inundated; flooding.
  3. 3
    An overflowing or superfluous abundance; a flood; a great influx.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how inundation appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Serious as was the flood damage in England, the bursting of some of the dykes on the coast of Holland resulted in an even more widespread and devastating inundation.
  2. There is an inundation of tourists in summer, but in winter the town is almost deserted.

Etymology

From Old French inundacion (“flood”) (French inondation), from Latin inundatio (“flood”), form of inundō (“I flood, overflow”) (English inundate). By surface analysis, inundat(e) + -ion.

This word in other languages

inundación(Español)inondation(Français)Überschwemmung(Deutsch)inundação(Português)

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 "inundation"?
"inundation" is spelled I-N-U-N-D-A-T-I-O-N.
What does "inundation" mean?
As a noun, "inundation" means: The act of inundating; an overflow; a flood; a rising and spreading of water over grounds.
What is the origin of the word "inundation"?
From Old French inundacion (“flood”) (French inondation), from Latin inundatio (“flood”), form of inundō (“I flood, overflow”) (English inundate). By surface analysis, inundat(e) + -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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "inundation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

janitorial#55,527immolation#55,507humidifier#55,500Holdsworth#55,493

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list