investigation

/ɪnˌvɛs.tɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/

//ɪnˌvɛs.tɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən// noun

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

"investigation" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“investigation” has 20 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,831. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,831
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
20
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of investigating; the process of inquiring into or following up; research, especially patient or thorough inquiry or examination

Corpus desk

Index EN-investigation · investigation · English

investigation · rank #1,831 · 20 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,831
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 20 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH images

Nearest frequency peer: images (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “investigation”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “investigation” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

investigation vs investigator
85% similar
investigation vs investigative
85% similar
investigation vs instigation
85% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for investigation
PropertyValue
Headwordinvestigation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪnˌvɛs.tɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/
Letters13
Frequency rank#1,831
Misspellings tracked20
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “investigation”

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).investigationlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “images” (#1,830), “Mexico” (#1,832), “guide” (#1,829). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “investigation” is #1,831. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 20 spelling variants around investigation (IPA /ɪnˌvɛs.tɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,831 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The act of investigating; the process of inquiring into or following up; research, especially patient or thorough inquiry or examination".

Our generated misspelling index lists 20 likely wrong-spelling variants for investigation, with forms such as "inevstigation", "innvestigation", and "invesitgation". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "investigator", "investigative", "instigation", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English investigacioun, from Old French investigacion, from Latin investigatio. Morphologically investigate + -ion. The correct English form is investigation, spelled I-N-V-E-S-T-I-G-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of investigating; the process of inquiring into or following up; research, especially patient or thorough inquiry or examination

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The investigation into the crime has led to various leads as well as plenty of dead ends.
  2. Despite thorough investigation, the perpetrator of the attacks remains unknown.

Etymology

From Middle English investigacioun, from Old French investigacion, from Latin investigatio. Morphologically investigate + -ion.

This word in other languages

investigación(Español)investigation(Français)Untersuchung(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • inevstigation
  • innvestigation
  • invesitgation
  • invesstigation
  • investgiation
  • investiagtion
  • investigaiton
  • investigasion
  • investigatino
  • investigationn
  • investigatoin
  • investigattion
  • investiggation
  • investigtaion
  • investtigation
  • invetsigation
  • invsetigation
  • invvestigation
  • ivnestigation
  • nivestigation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of investigation - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

inevstigation2innvestigation1invesitgation2invesstigation1investgiation2investiagtion2investigaiton2investigasion1
Edit distance from "investigation"

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 "investigation"?
"investigation" is spelled I-N-V-E-S-T-I-G-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪnˌvɛs.tɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/.
What does "investigation" mean?
As a noun, "investigation" means: The act of investigating; the process of inquiring into or following up; research, especially patient or thorough inquiry or examination
What words are commonly confused with "investigation"?
"investigation" is commonly confused with "investigator", "investigative", "instigation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "investigation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "investigation" is /ɪnˌvɛs.tɪˈɡeɪ.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 "investigation"?
From Middle English investigacioun, from Old French investigacion, from Latin investigatio. Morphologically investigate + -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 "investigation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

environmental#2,040understanding#1,620communication#2,103organizations#2,169

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (20 here; floor ≥5).

unfortunately20 variantsentertainment20 variantsconstruction20 variantsmanufacturing20 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list