cellulitis

/ˌsɛl.jʊˈlaɪ.tɪs/

//ˌsɛl.jʊˈlaɪ.tɪs// noun

"cellulitis" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cellulitis” is uncommon English (frequency #82,162 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#82,162
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An inflammation of subcutaneous or connective tissue caused by a bacterial infection.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cellulitis · cellulitis · English

cellulitis · rank #82,162 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #82,162
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH CD3

Nearest frequency peer: CD3 (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “cellulitis”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “cellulitis” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cellulitis
PropertyValue
Headwordcellulitis
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌsɛl.jʊˈlaɪ.tɪs/
Letters10
Frequency rank#82,162
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cellulitis” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).cellulitisfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “CD3” (#82,161), “cephalic” (#82,164), “Charleroi” (#82,165). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cellulitis” is #82,162. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cellulitis is uncommon English at frequency #82,162 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌsɛl.jʊˈlaɪ.tɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An inflammation of subcutaneous or connective tissue caused by a bacterial infection.".

cellulitis has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from New Latin cellulitis. By surface analysis, cellule + -itis. Doublet of cellulite. First attested in the 1840s. The correct English form is cellulitis, spelled C-E-L-L-U-L-I-T-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    An inflammation of subcutaneous or connective tissue caused by a bacterial infection.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from New Latin cellulitis. By surface analysis, cellule + -itis. Doublet of cellulite. First attested in the 1840s.

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); 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 "cellulitis"?
"cellulitis" is spelled C-E-L-L-U-L-I-T-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌsɛl.jʊˈlaɪ.tɪs/.
What does "cellulitis" mean?
As a noun, "cellulitis" means: An inflammation of subcutaneous or connective tissue caused by a bacterial infection.
How do you pronounce "cellulitis"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cellulitis" is /ˌsɛl.jʊˈlaɪ.tɪs/. 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 "cellulitis"?
Learned borrowing from New Latin cellulitis. By surface analysis, cellule + -itis. Doublet of cellulite. First attested in the 1840s. 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 "cellulitis", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list