Alzheimer's disease

/ˈæl(t)s.haɪ.mə(ɹ)z dɪˈziːz/

//ˈæl(t)s.haɪ.mə(ɹ)z dɪˈziːz// noun

"alzheimer-s-disease" is a 17-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Alzheimer's disease” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
19
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A disorder involving loss of mental functions resulting from brain tissue changes; senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type.

Corpus desk

Index EN-alzheimer-s-disease · Alzheimer's disease · English

Alzheimer's disease · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 19 letters
  • VOW-8 8 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for Alzheimer's disease
PropertyValue
HeadwordAlzheimer's disease
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæl(t)s.haɪ.mə(ɹ)z dɪˈziːz/
Letters19
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Alzheimer's disease” in English

Alzheimer's diseasefalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Alzheimer's disease is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈæl(t)s.haɪ.mə(ɹ)z dɪˈziːz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A disorder involving loss of mental functions resulting from brain tissue changes; senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for Alzheimer's disease in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Named after Alois Alzheimer (1864–1915), a German neurologist who described the disease in 1906. The correct English form is Alzheimer's disease, spelled A-L-Z-H-E-I-M-E-R-'-S- -D-I-S-E-A-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A disorder involving loss of mental functions resulting from brain tissue changes; senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type.

Etymology

Named after Alois Alzheimer (1864–1915), a German neurologist who described the disease in 1906.

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Alzheimer's disease"?
"Alzheimer's disease" is spelled A-L-Z-H-E-I-M-E-R-'-S- -D-I-S-E-A-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæl(t)s.haɪ.mə(ɹ)z dɪˈziːz/.
What does "Alzheimer's disease" mean?
As a noun, "Alzheimer's disease" means: A disorder involving loss of mental functions resulting from brain tissue changes; senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type.
How do you pronounce "Alzheimer's disease"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Alzheimer's disease" is /ˈæl(t)s.haɪ.mə(ɹ)z dɪˈziːz/. 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 "Alzheimer's disease"?
Named after Alois Alzheimer (1864–1915), a German neurologist who described the disease in 1906. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list