amnesia

/ˌæmˈniʒə/

//ˌæmˈniʒə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“amnesia” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,479. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,479
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Loss of memory; forgetfulness.

Corpus desk

Index EN-amnesia · amnesia · English

amnesia · rank #18,479 · 9 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,479
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Angola

Nearest frequency peer: Angola (+2 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 “amnesia”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “amnesia” 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).

amnesia vs anemia
71% similar
amnesia vs amnesty
71% similar
amnesia vs Amelia
57% similar

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

Key facts for amnesia
PropertyValue
Headwordamnesia
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌæmˈniʒə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#18,479
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “amnesia”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).amnesialands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Angola” (#18,481), “angrily” (#18,482), “adjective” (#18,475). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “amnesia” is #18,479. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around amnesia (IPA /ˌæmˈniʒə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,479 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for amnesia, with forms such as "amensia", "ammnesia", and "amneisa". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "anemia", "amnesty", "Amelia", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From modified Latin amnesia, from Ancient Greek ἀμνησία (amnēsía, “forgetfulness”), a noun derivation from μιμνήσκω (mimnḗskō, “to remind, to remember”) prefixed with the alpha privative. The correct English form is amnesia, spelled A-M-N-E-S-I-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Loss of memory; forgetfulness.
  2. 2
    Forgetfulness.
  3. 3
    A potent sativa-dominant strain of marijuana.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how amnesia appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I lay around my Barnard dorm room listening to Nina Simone records and reading his first novel, “Forgetting Elena,” which takes place in a highly mythopoeticized version of Fire Island and nominally concerns a man with amnesia.
  2. They must have amnesia, they forgot that I'm him

Etymology

From modified Latin amnesia, from Ancient Greek ἀμνησία (amnēsía, “forgetfulness”), a noun derivation from μιμνήσκω (mimnḗskō, “to remind, to remember”) prefixed with the alpha privative.

This word in other languages

amnesia(Español)amnésie(Français)Amnesie(Deutsch)amnésia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amensia
  • ammnesia
  • amneisa
  • amnesai
  • amnessia
  • amnnesia
  • amnseia
  • anmesia
  • manesia

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of amnesia - 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.

amensia2ammnesia1amneisa2amnesai2amnessia1amnnesia1amnseia2anmesia2
Edit distance from "amnesia"

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 "amnesia"?
"amnesia" is spelled A-M-N-E-S-I-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌæmˈniʒə/.
What does "amnesia" mean?
As a noun, "amnesia" means: Loss of memory; forgetfulness.
What words are commonly confused with "amnesia"?
"amnesia" is commonly confused with "anemia", "amnesty", "Amelia". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "amnesia"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "amnesia" is /ˌæmˈniʒə/. 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 "amnesia"?
From modified Latin amnesia, from Ancient Greek ἀμνησία (amnēsía, “forgetfulness”), a noun derivation from μιμνήσκω (mimnḗskō, “to remind, to remember”) prefixed with the alpha privative. 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 "amnesia", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

angrily#18,482aspirin#18,487bearded#18,492blooded#18,501

Similar misspelling depth

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

appellate9 variantswhores9 variantssynth9 variantsstaffed9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list