fizzle
/ˈfɪzəl/
"fizzle" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“fizzle” is an uncommon English word, ranked #52,947 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #52,947
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To sputter or hiss.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | fizzle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈfɪzəl/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #52,947 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “fizzle” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for fizzle is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfɪzəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #52,947 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
fizzle has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Attested in English since 1525-35. From earlier fysel (“to fart”). Related to fīsa (“to fart”). Compare with Swedish fisa (“to fart (silently)”). See also feist. It could also come from old Norse: "fise" simply means "blow," like in "blow in the wind." A we… The correct English form is fizzle, spelled F-I-Z-Z-L-E.
Definition
- 1To sputter or hiss.
- 2To decay or die off to nothing; to burn out; to end less successfully than previously hoped.
- 3To fail to generate the expected yield when exploded during testing.
Etymology
Attested in English since 1525-35. From earlier fysel (“to fart”). Related to fīsa (“to fart”). Compare with Swedish fisa (“to fart (silently)”). See also feist. It could also come from old Norse: "fise" simply means "blow," like in "blow in the wind." A weather-exposed community in Rogaland, Norway, is called Fister. (In modern language, the verb "fisle" has the same 3 meanings as in English, see below.)
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 “fizzle”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-I-Z-Z-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfɪzəl/ (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.