fiasco

/fiˈæs.kəʊ/

//fiˈæs.kəʊ// noun

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

"fiasco" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fiasco” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,596. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,596
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A sudden or unexpected failure.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fiasco · fiasco · English

fiasco · rank #19,596 · 8 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,596
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fermentation

Nearest frequency peer: fermentation (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “fiasco”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “fiasco” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

fiasco vs fico
67% similar
fiasco vs fresco
67% similar
fiasco vs Frisco
50% similar

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

Key facts for fiasco
PropertyValue
Headwordfiasco
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fiˈæs.kəʊ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#19,596
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fiasco”

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).fiascolands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “fermentation” (#19,595), “fifteenth” (#19,597), “fanbase” (#19,594). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fiasco” is #19,596. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around fiasco (IPA /fiˈæs.kəʊ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,596 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for fiasco, with forms such as "faisco", "ffiasco", and "fiacso". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "fico", "fresco", "Frisco", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Italian fiasco (“bottle, flask”), from Late Latin flasca, flascō (“bottle, container”), from Frankish *flaskā (“bottle, flask”) from Proto-Germanic *flaskǭ (“bottle”); see flask. “Failure” sense comes through French faire fiasco from Italian t… The correct English form is fiasco, spelled F-I-A-S-C-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sudden or unexpected failure.
  2. 2
    A ludicrous or humiliating situation. Some effort that went quite wrong.
  3. 3
    A wine bottle in a (usually straw) jacket.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The event turned into a complete fiasco when the power went out.
  2. His speech was a fiasco that left the audience confused.

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian fiasco (“bottle, flask”), from Late Latin flasca, flascō (“bottle, container”), from Frankish *flaskā (“bottle, flask”) from Proto-Germanic *flaskǭ (“bottle”); see flask. “Failure” sense comes through French faire fiasco from Italian theatrical slang far fiasco (literally “to make a bottle”), of uncertain origin; perhaps from an expression fare il fiasco, meaning to play a game with the forfeit that the loser will buy the next bottle or round of drinks. Doublet of flacon, flagon, and flask.

This word in other languages

fiasco(Español)fiasco(Français)Fiasko(Deutsch)fiasco(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • faisco
  • ffiasco
  • fiacso
  • fiascco
  • fiasoc
  • fiassco
  • fisaco
  • ifasco

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

faisco2ffiasco1fiacso2fiascco1fiasoc2fiassco1fisaco2ifasco2
Edit distance from "fiasco"

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 "fiasco"?
"fiasco" is spelled F-I-A-S-C-O. The IPA pronunciation is /fiˈæs.kəʊ/.
What does "fiasco" mean?
As a noun, "fiasco" means: A sudden or unexpected failure.
What words are commonly confused with "fiasco"?
"fiasco" is commonly confused with "fico", "fresco", "Frisco". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fiasco"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fiasco" is /fiˈæs.kəʊ/. 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 "fiasco"?
Borrowed from Italian fiasco (“bottle, flask”), from Late Latin flasca, flascō (“bottle, container”), from Frankish *flaskā (“bottle, flask”) from Proto-Germanic *flaskǭ (“bottle”); see flask. “Failure” sense comes through French faire fiasco from... 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 "fiasco", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

flares#19,598Flores#19,601footed#19,602fright#19,603

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

FLOPS8 variantsGoddard8 variantscommune8 variantsColleen8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list