disease

/dɪˈziːz/

//dɪˈziːz// noun

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

"disease" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“disease” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,331 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,331
frequency rank, English
7
letters
9
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - 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.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

disease vs disuse
71% similar
disease vs diverse
71% similar
disease vs dispose
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for disease
PropertyValue
Headworddisease
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɪˈziːz/
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,331
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “disease” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). disease lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for disease is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɪˈziːz/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,331 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for disease, with forms such as "ddisease", "diesase", and "disaese". 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. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "disuse", "diverse", "dispose", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English disese, from Anglo-Norman desese, disaise, from Old French desaise, from des- + aise. Displaced native Middle English adle, audle (“disease”) (from Old English ādl (“disease, sickness”), see adle), Middle English cothe, coathe (“disease”… The correct English form is disease, spelled D-I-S-E-A-S-E.

Definition

  1. 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.
  2. 2
    Any abnormal or harmful condition, as of society, people's attitudes, way of living etc.
  3. 3
    A lack of ease; uneasiness; trouble; vexation; disquiet.

Etymology

From Middle English disese, from Anglo-Norman desese, disaise, from Old French desaise, from des- + aise. Displaced native Middle English adle, audle (“disease”) (from Old English ādl (“disease, sickness”), see adle), Middle English cothe, coathe (“disease”) (from Old English coþu (“disease”), see coath). By surface analysis, dis- + ease.

Synonyms

disease § Synonymsafflictionailmentcoathcomplaintdiseasedisorderegritudeill healthillnessindispositionsicknesstroublemaladymorbusrot

Antonyms

halenesshealthhealthinessheartiness

This word in other languages

enfermedad(Español)maladie(Français)Krankheit(Deutsch)doença(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ddisease,diesase,disaese,diseaes,diseasse,disesae,dissease,dsiease,idsease

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of disease - 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.

ddisease1diesase2disaese2diseaes2diseasse1disesae2dissease1dsiease2
Edit distance from "disease"

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 "disease"?
"disease" is spelled D-I-S-E-A-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈziːz/.
What does "disease" mean?
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 instantaneously acquired.
What words are commonly confused with "disease"?
"disease" is commonly confused with "disuse", "diverse", "dispose". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "disease"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "disease" is /dɪˈziːz/. 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 "disease"?
From Middle English disese, from Anglo-Norman desese, disaise, from Old French desaise, from des- + aise. Displaced native Middle English adle, audle (“disease”) (from Old English ādl (“disease, sickness”), see adle), Middle English cothe, coathe ... 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.

Using “disease”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is D-I-S-E-A-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /dɪˈziːz/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “disuse” - see the side-by-side comparison. disease vs disuse
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list