transfection
/tɹænzˈfɛkʃən/
"transfection" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“transfection” is uncommon English (frequency #78,220 among 27,828 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #78,220
- frequency rank, English
- 27,828
- “T” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The introduction of foreign genetic material (such as DNA or RNA) into a eukaryotic cell.
Corpus desk
Index EN-transfection · transfection · English
transfection · rank #78,220 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #78,220
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 27,828
- PHOTO-FINISH trattoria
Nearest frequency peer: trattoria (+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 “transfection”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- tottering
tottering
21,784 corpus weight
- tracheotomy
tracheotomy
21,783 corpus weight
- transfection
transfection
21,781 corpus weight
- trattoria
trattoria
21,780 corpus weight
- treetop
treetop
21,779 corpus weight
- Trento
Trento
21,778 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “transfection” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | transfection |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /tɹænzˈfɛkʃən/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #78,220 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “transfection” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
transfection is uncommon English at frequency #78,220 among 27,828 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /tɹænzˈfɛkʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The introduction of foreign genetic material (such as DNA or RNA) into a eukaryotic cell.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for transfection, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Blend of trans- + infection. The correct English form is transfection, spelled T-R-A-N-S-F-E-C-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The introduction of foreign genetic material (such as DNA or RNA) into a eukaryotic cell.
Etymology
Blend of trans- + infection.
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.
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 May 6, 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 "transfection", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency 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.