cinnabar

/ˈsɪn.əˌbɑɹ/

//ˈsɪn.əˌbɑɹ// noun

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

"cinnabar" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cinnabar” is uncommon English (frequency #72,185 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#72,185
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A deep red mineral, mercuric sulfide, HgS; the principal ore of mercury; such ore used as the pigment vermilion.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cinnabar · cinnabar · English

cinnabar · rank #72,185 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #72,185
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cisplatin

Nearest frequency peer: cisplatin (+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 “cinnabar”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cinnabar
PropertyValue
Headwordcinnabar
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɪn.əˌbɑɹ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#72,185
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cinnabar” in English

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).cinnabarfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “cisplatin” (#72,186), “civitas” (#72,187), “choon” (#72,182). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cinnabar” is #72,185. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cinnabar is uncommon English at frequency #72,185 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsɪn.əˌbɑɹ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for cinnabar, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in the mid-15th century. From Middle English cynabare, from Old French cinabre, from Latin cinnabaris, from Ancient Greek κιννάβαρι (kinnábari), of unknown origin. The correct English form is cinnabar, spelled C-I-N-N-A-B-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A deep red mineral, mercuric sulfide, HgS; the principal ore of mercury; such ore used as the pigment vermilion.
  2. 2
    A bright red colour tinted with orange.
  3. 3
    A species of erebid moth, Tyria jacobaeae, having red patches on its predominantly black wings.
  4. 4
    Synonym of dragon's blood (“type of resin”).
  5. 5
    The Elixir of Life.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. There are a few day-flying exceptions such as hummingbird hawk-moths, silver Ys, cinnabars, scarlet tigers and burnets but, in general, knowledge of moths lags behind that of butterflies.

Etymology

First attested in the mid-15th century. From Middle English cynabare, from Old French cinabre, from Latin cinnabaris, from Ancient Greek κιννάβαρι (kinnábari), of unknown origin.

This word in other languages

cinabrio(Español)cinabre(Français)Zinnober(Deutsch)

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 "cinnabar"?
"cinnabar" is spelled C-I-N-N-A-B-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɪn.əˌbɑɹ/.
What does "cinnabar" mean?
As a noun, "cinnabar" means: A deep red mineral, mercuric sulfide, HgS; the principal ore of mercury; such ore used as the pigment vermilion.
How do you pronounce "cinnabar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cinnabar" is /ˈsɪn.əˌbɑɹ/. 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 "cinnabar"?
First attested in the mid-15th century. From Middle English cynabare, from Old French cinabre, from Latin cinnabaris, from Ancient Greek κιννάβαρι (kinnábari), of unknown origin. 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 "cinnabar", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

chalking#72,176centring#72,175confocal#72,199cartoony#72,170

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list