contamination

\kɔ̃.ta.mi.na.sjɔ̃\

/\kɔ̃.ta.mi.na.sjɔ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“contamination” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #12,134 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#12,134
frequency rank, French
13
letters
19
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Souillure qui résulte du contact d’un objet impur, malpropre ou contaminant.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

contamination vs contaminations
93% similar
contamination vs condamnation
85% similar

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

Key facts for contamination
PropertyValue
Headwordcontamination
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kɔ̃.ta.mi.na.sjɔ̃\
Letters13
Frequency rank#12,134
Misspellings tracked19
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “contamination” sits in French 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). contamination lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for contamination is 13 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \kɔ̃.ta.mi.na.sjɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #12,134 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for contamination, with forms such as "ccontamination", "cnotamination", and "conatmination". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "contaminations", "condamnation", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is contamination, spelled C-O-N-T-A-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Souillure qui résulte du contact d’un objet impur, malpropre ou contaminant.
  2. 2
    Infection produite par une maladie contagieuse.
  3. 3
    Contamination mentale.
  4. 4
    Introduction ou présence d’un contaminant dans un aliment ou dans un environnement alimentaire.
  5. 5
    Contamination radioactive.
  6. 6
    Contamination de vestiges anciens par des radionucléides faussant les méthodes de datation basée sur la mesure de la composition isotopique.
  7. 7
    Changement phonétique ou grammatical par l’influence d’un autre mot sémantiquement proche ou d'une autre langue.

Antonyms

décontamination

This word in other languages

contamination(English)contaminación(Español)Kontamination(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccontamination,cnotamination,conatmination,conntamination,contaimnation,contamiantion,contaminaiton,contaminatino,contaminationn,contaminatoin,contaminattion,contaminnation,contamintaion,contammination,contamniation,contmaination,conttamination,cotnamination,ocntamination

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of contamination - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ccontamination1cnotamination2conatmination2conntamination1contaimnation2contamiantion2contaminaiton2contaminatino2
Edit distance from "contamination"

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "contamination"?
"contamination" is spelled C-O-N-T-A-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \kɔ̃.ta.mi.na.sjɔ̃\.
What does "contamination" mean?
As a noun, "contamination" means: Souillure qui résulte du contact d’un objet impur, malpropre ou contaminant.
What words are commonly confused with "contamination"?
"contamination" is commonly confused with "contaminations", "condamnation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "contamination"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "contamination" is \kɔ̃.ta.mi.na.sjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "contamination" come from?
"contamination" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “contamination”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-O-N-T-A-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \kɔ̃.ta.mi.na.sjɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “contaminations” - see the side-by-side comparison. contamination vs contaminations
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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.

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

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