nausea

/ˈnɔːzɪə/

//ˈnɔːzɪə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“nausea” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,175. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,175
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A feeling of illness or discomfort in the digestive system, usually characterized by a strong urge to vomit.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nausea · nausea · English

nausea · rank #14,175 · 7 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #14,175
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH nana

Nearest frequency peer: nana (-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 “nausea”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “nausea” 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).

nausea vs NASA
0% similar

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

Key facts for nausea
PropertyValue
Headwordnausea
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈnɔːzɪə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#14,175
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “nausea”

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).nausealands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “nana” (#14,174), “neurological” (#14,176), “Nairobi” (#14,173). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nausea” is #14,175. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around nausea (IPA /ˈnɔːzɪə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,175 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for nausea, with forms such as "anusea", "nasuea", and "nauesa". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "NASA", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English nausea, a borrowing from Latin nausea, from Ancient Greek ναυσία (nausía, “sea-sickness”), from ναῦς (naûs, “ship”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₂-. Displaced native Old English wlǣtta. The correct English form is nausea, spelled N-A-U-S-E-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A feeling of illness or discomfort in the digestive system, usually characterized by a strong urge to vomit.
  2. 2
    Strong dislike or disgust.
  3. 3
    Motion sickness.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. He got nausea after two hours of travelling on the plane.

Etymology

From Middle English nausea, a borrowing from Latin nausea, from Ancient Greek ναυσία (nausía, “sea-sickness”), from ναῦς (naûs, “ship”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₂-. Displaced native Old English wlǣtta.

This word in other languages

náusea(Español)nausée(Français)Übelkeit(Deutsch)náusea(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • anusea
  • nasuea
  • nauesa
  • nausae
  • naussea
  • nnausea
  • nuasea

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

anusea2nasuea2nauesa2nausae2naussea1nnausea1nuasea2
Edit distance from "nausea"

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 "nausea"?
"nausea" is spelled N-A-U-S-E-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnɔːzɪə/.
What does "nausea" mean?
As a noun, "nausea" means: A feeling of illness or discomfort in the digestive system, usually characterized by a strong urge to vomit.
What words are commonly confused with "nausea"?
"nausea" is commonly confused with "NASA". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nausea"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nausea" is /ˈnɔːzɪə/. 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 "nausea"?
From Middle English nausea, a borrowing from Latin nausea, from Ancient Greek ναυσία (nausía, “sea-sickness”), from ναῦς (naûs, “ship”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₂-. Displaced native Old English wlǣtta. 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 "nausea", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Nicola#14,177ounces#14,179misuse#14,169oyster#14,181

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Malta7 variantsPTSD7 variantsKylie7 variantskettle7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list