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PlainSpell

blister

/ˈblɪstɚ/noun, verb

blister is spelled B-L-I-S-T-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, blister means “A small bubble between the layers of the skin that contains watery or bloody fluid and is caused by friction and pressure, burning, freezing…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of blister is blisters.

How many letters and syllables are in blister?

Letters7: B-L-I-S-T-E-R
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing1.0 times per million words; the 28,918th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is blister?

Blister appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce blister?

  • UK /ˈblɪstə(ɹ)/
  • US /ˈblɪstɚ/

Blister has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-blister.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with blister?

6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as blister from its last stressed vowel (/ɪstəɹ/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: bristle.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of blister

  • blisters plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • blistering participle, present
  • blistered participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does blister mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A small bubble between the layers of the skin that contains watery or bloody fluid and is caused by friction and pressure, burning, freezing, chemical irritation, disease, or infection.

  2. 2

    A swelling on a plant.

  3. 3

    Something applied to the skin to raise a blister; a vesicatory or other applied medicine.

  4. 4

    A bubble, as on a painted surface.

  5. 5

    An enclosed pocket of air, which may be mixed with water or solvent vapor, trapped between impermeable layers of felt or between the membrane and substrate.

  6. 6

    A type of pre-formed packaging made from plastic that contains cavities.

    blister card

  7. 7

    A cause of annoyance.

  8. 8

    A form of smelted copper with a blistered surface.

verb

  1. 1

    To raise blisters on.

    a chemical agent that blisters the skin

  2. 2

    To sear after blaching.

  3. 3

    To have a blister form.

  4. 4

    To criticise severely.

  5. 5

    To break out in blisters.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Blister in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchampoule, cloque, boursouflure, phlyctène (bubble on the skin), cloquer, se couvrir d'ampoules (cause blisters to form)
GermanBlase (bubble on the skin), kritisieren (criticise severely), Blasen werfen (break out in blisters)
Portuguesebolha (bubble on the skin)
Spanishampolla, ámpula (bubble on the skin), ampollar (cause blisters to form)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does blister come from?

From Middle English blister, from Old French blestre, from a Germanic source. Compare Middle Dutch blyster (“swelling”), Old Norse blastr (“a blowing”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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