cinnabar
/ˈsɪn.əˌbɑɹ/
"cinnabar" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cinnabar” is an uncommon English word, ranked #72,185 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #72,185
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A deep red mineral, mercuric sulfide, HgS; the principal ore of mercury; such ore used as the pigment vermilion.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cinnabar |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsɪn.əˌbɑɹ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #72,185 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cinnabar” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for cinnabar is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɪn.əˌbɑɹ/. Corpus data places it at rank #72,185 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1A deep red mineral, mercuric sulfide, HgS; the principal ore of mercury; such ore used as the pigment vermilion.
- 2A bright red colour tinted with orange.
- 3A species of erebid moth, Tyria jacobaeae, having red patches on its predominantly black wings.
- 4Synonym of dragon's blood (“type of resin”).
- 5The Elixir of Life.
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
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 “cinnabar”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-I-N-N-A-B-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsɪn.əˌbɑɹ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.