measles

/ˈmizəlz/

//ˈmizəlz// noun

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

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

The verdict

“measles” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,887. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,887
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An acute and highly contagious disease which often afflicts children caused by the virus Measles morbillivirus and causing red rashes, fever, runny nose, coughing, and red eyes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-measles · measles · English

measles · rank #18,887 · 10 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,887
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH maverick

Nearest frequency peer: maverick (-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 “measles”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “measles” 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).

measles vs measly
71% similar
measles vs measures
75% similar
measles vs males
71% similar

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

Key facts for measles
PropertyValue
Headwordmeasles
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmizəlz/
Letters7
Frequency rank#18,887
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “measles”

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).measleslands 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 “maverick” (#18,886), “mend” (#18,888), “matchmaking” (#18,885). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “measles” is #18,887. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around measles (IPA /ˈmizəlz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,887 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for measles, with forms such as "emasles", "maesles", and "mealses". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "measly", "measures", "males", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Either from Middle Dutch masels (“blood blisters, measels”) or Middle Low German maselen (“red blemishes, measels”), both from Old High German masala (“blood blister, phlegmon”). Doublet of measlings. Cognate with mazer & mase and Middle Low German masele &… The correct English form is measles, spelled M-E-A-S-L-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    An acute and highly contagious disease which often afflicts children caused by the virus Measles morbillivirus and causing red rashes, fever, runny nose, coughing, and red eyes.
  2. 2
    Any disease causing red rashes.
  3. 3
    Used as an intensifier.
  4. 4
    Synonym of cysticercosis: A disease of livestock or meat caused by the presence of tapeworm larvae.
  5. 5
    Any disease causing a tree's bark to become rough and irregular.
  6. 6
    plural of measle: a red spot forming part of a rash, (now) particularly those caused by M. morbillivirus.
  7. 7
    plural of measle: any similar-looking red spot, particularly (printing) foxing.
  8. 8
    plural of measle: the individual cysts of cysticercosis.
  9. 9
    plural of measle: the individual blisters in the surface of a diseased tree's bark.
  10. 10
    A discreet assassination made to look like death from any natural cause.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Maybe it's the 'measles. They say they're going around the neighborhood.
  2. Olivia, my eldest daughter, caught measles when she was seven years old. As the illness took its usual course I can remember reading to her often in bed and not feeling particularly alarmed about it.

Etymology

Either from Middle Dutch masels (“blood blisters, measels”) or Middle Low German maselen (“red blemishes, measels”), both from Old High German masala (“blood blister, phlegmon”). Doublet of measlings. Cognate with mazer & mase and Middle Low German masele & māsel. Influenced in pronunciation and some senses by mesel (“leprous, leper”).

Synonyms

morbillirubeolameaslingsthe dickens

This word in other languages

sarampión(Español)rougeole(Français)Masern(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emasles
  • maesles
  • mealses
  • measels
  • measless
  • measlles
  • measlse
  • meassles
  • mesales
  • mmeasles

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of measles - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

emasles2maesles2mealses2measels2measless1measlles1measlse2meassles1
Edit distance from "measles"

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 "measles"?
"measles" is spelled M-E-A-S-L-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmizəlz/.
What does "measles" mean?
As a noun, "measles" means: An acute and highly contagious disease which often afflicts children caused by the virus Measles morbillivirus and causing red rashes, fever, runny nose, coughing, and red eyes.
What words are commonly confused with "measles"?
"measles" is commonly confused with "measly", "measures", "males". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "measles"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "measles" is /ˈmizəlz/. 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 "measles"?
Either from Middle Dutch masels (“blood blisters, measels”) or Middle Low German maselen (“red blemishes, measels”), both from Old High German masala (“blood blister, phlegmon”). Doublet of measlings. Cognate with mazer & mase and Middle Low Germa... 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 "measles", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

mascara#18,884monsoon#18,897montage#18,898Morales#18,900

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Jericho10 variantsinhabit10 variantsPhyllis10 variantsgrossly10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list