tainted
/ˈteɪntɪd/
"tainted" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tainted” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,731 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #17,731
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 11
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Corrupted or filled with imperfections.
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 | tainted |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈteɪntɪd/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #17,731 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 11 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tainted” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for tainted is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈteɪntɪd/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,731 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for tainted, with forms such as "atinted", "tainetd", and "tainnted". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "tasted", "tilted", "tinted", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From taint + -ed. The correct English form is tainted, spelled T-A-I-N-T-E-D.
Definition
- 1Corrupted or filled with imperfections.
- 2Originating from an untrusted source.
Etymology
From taint + -ed.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: atinted,tainetd,tainnted,taintde,taintedd,taintted,taitned,tanited,tianted,ttainted
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tainted - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 “tainted”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-A-I-N-T-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈteɪntɪd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “tasted” - see the side-by-side comparison. tainted vs tasted
- 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.