blister

/ˈblɪstə(ɹ)/

//ˈblɪstə(ɹ)// noun

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

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

The verdict

“blister” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,840. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#28,840
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 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.

Corpus desk

Index EN-blister · blister · English

blister · rank #28,840 · 11 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #28,840
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH blissful

Nearest frequency peer: blissful (-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 “blister”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “blister” 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).

blister vs buster
71% similar
blister vs booster
71% similar
blister vs bolster
71% similar

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

Key facts for blister
PropertyValue
Headwordblister
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈblɪstə(ɹ)/
Letters7
Frequency rank#28,840
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “blister”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).blisterlands 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 “blissful” (#28,839), “blockage” (#28,841), “bloodbath” (#28,843). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “blister” is #28,840. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around blister (IPA /ˈblɪstə(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #28,840 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for blister, with forms such as "bblister", "bilster", and "blisetr". 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 10 confusable-pair relationships, "buster", "booster", "bolster", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English blister, from Old French blestre, from a Germanic source. Compare Middle Dutch blyster (“swelling”), Old Norse blastr (“a blowing”). The correct English form is blister, spelled B-L-I-S-T-E-R.

Definition

  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.
  7. 7
    A cause of annoyance.
  8. 8
    A form of smelted copper with a blistered surface.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Inspect them for rub marks and blisters; tape or bandage rub marks; clean the skin around a blister, use a sterilised needle to puncture it at its outer edge and press out the fluid, then bandage.
  2. 'T is written in the Hebrew Chronicle, / How the physicians, leaving pill and potion, / Prescribed, by way of blister, a young belle, / When old King David's blood grew dull in motion, / And that the medicine answered very well […]

Etymology

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

Synonyms

blebblain

This word in other languages

ampolla(Español)ampoule(Français)Blase(Deutsch)bolha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bblister
  • bilster
  • blisetr
  • blisster
  • blisterr
  • blistre
  • blistter
  • blitser
  • bllister
  • blsiter
  • lbister

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bblister1bilster2blisetr2blisster1blisterr1blistre2blistter1blitser2
Edit distance from "blister"

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 "blister"?
"blister" is spelled B-L-I-S-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈblɪstə(ɹ)/.
What does "blister" mean?
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, chemical irritation, disease, or infection.
What words are commonly confused with "blister"?
"blister" is commonly confused with "buster", "booster", "bolster". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "blister"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "blister" is /ˈblɪstə(ɹ)/. 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 "blister"?
From Middle English blister, from Old French blestre, from a Germanic source. Compare Middle Dutch blyster (“swelling”), Old Norse blastr (“a blowing”). 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 "blister", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

bravest#28,850bailiff#28,829bagging#28,828austere#28,822

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

blissful11 variantsAldrich11 variantsaffective11 variantscombing11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list