antivirus
/ˈantɪvʌɪrəs/
"antivirus" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“antivirus” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #32,676 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #32,676
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A piece of software that is used to detect, delete and or neutralize computer-based viruses.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | antivirus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈantɪvʌɪrəs/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #32,676 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “antivirus” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for antivirus is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈantɪvʌɪrəs/. Corpus data places it at rank #32,676 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A piece of software that is used to detect, delete and or neutralize computer-based viruses.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for antivirus, with forms such as "anitvirus", "anntivirus", and "antiivrus". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "antiviral", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From anti- + virus. The correct English form is antivirus, spelled A-N-T-I-V-I-R-U-S.
Definition
- 1A piece of software that is used to detect, delete and or neutralize computer-based viruses.
Etymology
From anti- + virus.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: anitvirus,anntivirus,antiivrus,antivirrus,antivirsu,antiviruss,antiviurs,antivrius,antivvirus,anttivirus,antviirus,atnivirus,nativirus
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of antivirus - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “antivirus”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-N-T-I-V-I-R-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈantɪvʌɪrəs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “antiviral” - see the side-by-side comparison. antivirus vs antiviral
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English 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.