abscess

/ˈæbsɛs/

//ˈæbsɛs// noun

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

"abscess" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“abscess” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #36,413. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#36,413
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A cavity caused by tissue destruction, usually because of infection, filled with pus and surrounded by inflamed tissue.

Corpus desk

Index EN-abscess · abscess · English

abscess · rank #36,413 · 9 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #36,413
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Abilene

Nearest frequency peer: Abilene (-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 “abscess”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “abscess” 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).

abscess vs access
71% similar
abscess vs assess
71% similar

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

Key facts for abscess
PropertyValue
Headwordabscess
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæbsɛs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#36,413
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “abscess”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).abscesslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Abilene” (#36,412), “absorbent” (#36,414), “aah” (#36,411). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “abscess” is #36,413. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around abscess (IPA /ˈæbsɛs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #36,413 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A cavity caused by tissue destruction, usually because of infection, filled with pus and surrounded by inflamed tissue.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for abscess, with forms such as "abbscess", "abcsess", and "absccess". 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, "access", "assess", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin abscessus (“a going away; gathering of humors, abscess”), from abscēdō (“go away, depart”), from abs (“away from”) + cēdō (“go”). See cede. The correct English form is abscess, spelled A-B-S-C-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A cavity caused by tissue destruction, usually because of infection, filled with pus and surrounded by inflamed tissue.

Etymology

From Latin abscessus (“a going away; gathering of humors, abscess”), from abscēdō (“go away, depart”), from abs (“away from”) + cēdō (“go”). See cede.

This word in other languages

absceso(Español)abcès(Français)Abszess(Deutsch)abscesso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abbscess
  • abcsess
  • absccess
  • absces
  • abscses
  • absecss
  • absscess
  • asbcess
  • bascess

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of abscess - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

abbscess1abcsess2absccess1absces1abscses2absecss2absscess1asbcess2
Edit distance from "abscess"

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 "abscess"?
"abscess" is spelled A-B-S-C-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæbsɛs/.
What does "abscess" mean?
As a noun, "abscess" means: A cavity caused by tissue destruction, usually because of infection, filled with pus and surrounded by inflamed tissue.
What words are commonly confused with "abscess"?
"abscess" is commonly confused with "access", "assess". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "abscess"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abscess" is /ˈæbsɛs/. 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 "abscess"?
From Latin abscessus (“a going away; gathering of humors, abscess”), from abscēdō (“go away, depart”), from abs (“away from”) + cēdō (“go”). See cede. 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 "abscess", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Abilene#36,412winking#36,397ascetic#36,436attains#36,439

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

zigzag9 variantsverity9 variantsbeastie9 variantsbedouin9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list