# influenza

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˌɪn.fluˈɛn.zə/ · frequency rank #14,773

## Definitions
1. An acute contagious disease of the upper airways and lungs, caused by a virus, which rapidly spreads around the world in seasonal epidemics.

## Etymology
From Italian influenza (“influence”), from Latin influentia. Doublet of influence.

## Easily confused with
- **influence** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/influence-vs-influenza)

## Common misspellings (13)
`ifnluenza`, `inffluenza`, `infleunza`, `inflluenza`, `influenaz`, `influennza`, `influenzza`, `influezna`, `influneza`, `infulenza`, `inlfuenza`, `innfluenza`, `nifluenza`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/influenza