disease
dis·ease/dɪˈziz/noun, verb
disease is spelled D-I-S-E-A-S-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (dis·ease). It appears 79 times per million words in written English, the 1,338th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “dis-ease vs disease” about 70 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, disease means “An abnormal condition of a human, animal or plant that causes discomfort or dysfunction; distinct from injury insofar as the latter is usually…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of disease is diseases.
How many letters and syllables are in disease?
| Letters | 7: D-I-S-E-A-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: dis·ease |
| In writing | 79 times per million words; the 1,338th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is disease?
Disease appears 79 times per million words in written English, the 1,338th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce disease?
- UK /dɪˈziːz/
- UK [dɪˈzɪi̯z]
- US /dɪˈziz/
Disease has 2 syllables, split dis·ease in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-disease.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with disease
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: dis-ease (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with disease?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as disease from its last stressed vowel (/iz/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: seaside.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of disease
- diseases plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- dis-ease
- diseasing participle, present
- diseased participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does disease mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An abnormal condition of a human, animal or plant that causes discomfort or dysfunction; distinct from injury insofar as the latter is usually instantaneously acquired.
The tomato plants had some kind of disease that left their leaves splotchy and their fruit withered.
- 2
Any abnormal or harmful condition, as of society, people's attitudes, way of living etc.
- 3
A lack of ease; uneasiness; trouble; vexation; disquiet.
verb
- 1
To infect with a disease.
- 2
obsoleteTo cause unease; to annoy, irritate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Disease in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense an abnormal condition of the body causing discomfort or dysfunction:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | maladie, mal |
| German | Krankheit, Infektionskrankheit, Seuche |
| Portuguese | doença |
| Spanish | enfermedad, dolencia, mal |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.