hypochondria

/ˌhaɪpə(ʊ)ˈkɒndriə/

//ˌhaɪpə(ʊ)ˈkɒndriə// noun

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

"hypochondria" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hypochondria” is uncommon English (frequency #98,236 among 2,646 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#98,236
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A formerly defined psychological disorder characterized by excessive preoccupation or worry about having a serious illness. No longer a current medical diagnosis; see hypochondriasis for more.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hypochondria · hypochondria · English

hypochondria · rank #98,236 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #98,236
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH Huynh

Nearest frequency peer: Huynh (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “hypochondria”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “hypochondria” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for hypochondria
PropertyValue
Headwordhypochondria
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌhaɪpə(ʊ)ˈkɒndriə/
Letters12
Frequency rank#98,236
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “hypochondria” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).hypochondriafalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Huynh” (#98,235), “hyssop” (#98,238), “hukou” (#98,233). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hypochondria” is #98,236. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hypochondria is uncommon English at frequency #98,236 among 2,646 “H” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌhaɪpə(ʊ)ˈkɒndriə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for hypochondria, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From New Latin hypochondria (the morbid condition so called, supposed to have its seat in the upper part of the abdomen), from hypochondrium (see English hypochondrium for more). The correct English form is hypochondria, spelled H-Y-P-O-C-H-O-N-D-R-I-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A formerly defined psychological disorder characterized by excessive preoccupation or worry about having a serious illness. No longer a current medical diagnosis; see hypochondriasis for more.
  2. 2
    Melancholy; depression.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Near-synonym: hypochondriasis
  2. Such labours as these, if they do not shorten life, are calculated to make it wretched, for hypochondria invariably follows close upon them.

Etymology

From New Latin hypochondria (the morbid condition so called, supposed to have its seat in the upper part of the abdomen), from hypochondrium (see English hypochondrium for more).

This word in other languages

hipocondría(Español)hypocondrie(Français)Hypochondrie(Deutsch)hipocondria(Português)

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 "hypochondria"?
"hypochondria" is spelled H-Y-P-O-C-H-O-N-D-R-I-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌhaɪpə(ʊ)ˈkɒndriə/.
What does "hypochondria" mean?
As a noun, "hypochondria" means: A formerly defined psychological disorder characterized by excessive preoccupation or worry about having a serious illness. No longer a current medical diagnosis; see hypochondriasis for more.
How do you pronounce "hypochondria"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hypochondria" is /ˌhaɪpə(ʊ)ˈkɒndriə/. 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 "hypochondria"?
From New Latin hypochondria (the morbid condition so called, supposed to have its seat in the upper part of the abdomen), from hypochondrium (see English hypochondrium for more). 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 "hypochondria", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

incentivised#98,251irritatingly#98,271Krishnamurti#98,339flamboyantly#98,121

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list