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How to spell infection

Infection is spelled I-N-F-E-C-T-I-O-N.

hear itin·fec·tion/ɪn'fɛkʃən/nounSchwa and roots

What it means: A disease caused by germs or bacteria.

In a sentence: The doctor gave me medicine to help with my infection.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear.

Same family: infected, infecting, infectious, disinfect. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: Infection comes from Latin 'inficere,' which meant 'to dye, stain, or spoil.' Over time, the idea of something being 'tainted' shifted to our modern medical meaning of germs invading and harming the body.

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