diphtheria
/dɪfˈθɪə.ɹi.ə/
"diphtheria" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“diphtheria” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #44,165. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #44,165
- frequency rank, English
- 26,416
- “D” headwords
- 15
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A serious infectious disease leading to inflammation of mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae.
Corpus desk
Index EN-diphtheria · diphtheria · English
diphtheria · rank #44,165 · 15 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-MID #44,165
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-HIGH 15 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 26,416
- PHOTO-FINISH dingle
Nearest frequency peer: dingle (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “diphtheria”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- devalue
devalue
55,840 corpus weight
- dido
dido
55,838 corpus weight
- dingle
dingle
55,837 corpus weight
- diphtheria
diphtheria
55,836 corpus weight
- disturbingly
disturbingly
55,832 corpus weight
- dob
dob
55,831 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “diphtheria” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | diphtheria |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dɪfˈθɪə.ɹi.ə/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #44,165 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “diphtheria” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 15 spelling variants around diphtheria (IPA /dɪfˈθɪə.ɹi.ə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #44,165 among 26,416 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A serious infectious disease leading to inflammation of mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for diphtheria, with forms such as "ddiphtheria", "dihptheria", and "diphhteria". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French diphtérie (later for a while also spelled diphthérie) in 1857, which was coined in 1855 with the suffix -ie to replace -ite in the previous term diphtérite for the disease because it affects more than one part of the body. The previous term (lat… The correct English form is diphtheria, spelled D-I-P-H-T-H-E-R-I-A.
Definition
- 1A serious infectious disease leading to inflammation of mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae.
Etymology
From French diphtérie (later for a while also spelled diphthérie) in 1857, which was coined in 1855 with the suffix -ie to replace -ite in the previous term diphtérite for the disease because it affects more than one part of the body. The previous term (later for a while also spelled diphthérite) was coined in 1817 by Pierre Bretonneau using Ancient Greek διφθέρα (diphthéra, “prepared hide, leather”) in reference to the tough membrane that forms in the throat. Bretonneau perhaps coined and used the Latin term diphtheritis (with its close imitation of Greek spelling typical of Neolatin) even earlier than the French term diphtérite, which follows the French habit of sometimes spelling t for the Latin transliteration th of Greek θ (but not, for example, in thermomètre).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ddiphtheria
- dihptheria
- diphhteria
- diphhtheria
- diphtehria
- diphtheira
- diphtherai
- diphtherria
- diphthheria
- diphthreia
- diphttheria
- dipphtheria
- dipthheria
- dpihtheria
- idphtheria
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of diphtheria - 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.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "diphtheria"?
What does "diphtheria" mean?
What are common misspellings of "diphtheria"?
How do you pronounce "diphtheria"?
What is the origin of the word "diphtheria"?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "diphtheria", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).
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.