pandemic

/pænˈdɛmɪk/

//pænˈdɛmɪk// adj

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

"pandemic" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pandemic” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,576. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,576
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of a disease: epidemic over a wide geographical area and affecting a large proportion of the population; also, of or pertaining to a disease of this nature.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pandemic · pandemic · English

pandemic · rank #11,576 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,576
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH passages

Nearest frequency peer: passages (+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 “pandemic”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “pandemic” 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
Key facts for pandemic
PropertyValue
Headwordpandemic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/pænˈdɛmɪk/
Letters8
Frequency rank#11,576
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pandemic”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).pandemiclands 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 “passages” (#11,577), “outreach” (#11,574), “obese” (#11,573). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pandemic” is #11,576. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around pandemic (IPA /pænˈdɛmɪk/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #11,576 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for pandemic, with forms such as "apndemic", "padnemic", and "panddemic". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek πάνδημος (pándēmos, “of or belonging to all the people, public”) + English -ic (suffix forming adjectives from nouns with the sense ‘of or pertaining to’). πάνδημος is derived from παν- (pan-, prefix meaning ‘all, every’) (ultimately from… The correct English form is pandemic, spelled P-A-N-D-E-M-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of a disease: epidemic over a wide geographical area and affecting a large proportion of the population; also, of or pertaining to a disease of this nature.
  2. 2
    General, widespread.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The chaotic breakdown of public health as World War I dragged on is widely recognized as exacerbating the disease burden of the pandemic outbreak of influenza in 1918.
  2. Among diſeaſes, ſome do more generally haunt a Country, by reaſon of a certain property in the air, produced through a particular influence of the climat; and the fuming of malign ſtreams out of the earth; whence ſuch diſeaſes are termed Endemick or Pandemick: Others, though they are general, do only rage at a certain ſeaſon of the year, and are therefore…

Etymology

From Ancient Greek πάνδημος (pándēmos, “of or belonging to all the people, public”) + English -ic (suffix forming adjectives from nouns with the sense ‘of or pertaining to’). πάνδημος is derived from παν- (pan-, prefix meaning ‘all, every’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to protect, shepherd”)) + δῆμος (dêmos, “the common people; free citizens, sovereign people”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂- (“to divide, share”)). Compare Late Latin pandēmus (“affecting all the people, general, public”).

This word in other languages

pandémico(Español)pandémique(Français)pandemisch(Deutsch)pandêmico(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apndemic
  • padnemic
  • panddemic
  • pandeimc
  • pandemci
  • pandemicc
  • pandemmic
  • pandmeic
  • panedmic
  • panndemic
  • pnademic
  • ppandemic

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

apndemic2padnemic2panddemic1pandeimc2pandemci2pandemicc1pandemmic1pandmeic2
Edit distance from "pandemic"

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 "pandemic"?
"pandemic" is spelled P-A-N-D-E-M-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /pænˈdɛmɪk/.
What does "pandemic" mean?
As an adjective, "pandemic" means: Of a disease: epidemic over a wide geographical area and affecting a large proportion of the population; also, of or pertaining to a disease of this nature.
What are common misspellings of "pandemic"?
Common misspellings include "apndemic", "padnemic", "panddemic", "pandeimc", "pandemci". The correct spelling is "pandemic".
How do you pronounce "pandemic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pandemic" is /pænˈdɛmɪk/. 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 "pandemic"?
From Ancient Greek πάνδημος (pándēmos, “of or belonging to all the people, public”) + English -ic (suffix forming adjectives from nouns with the sense ‘of or pertaining to’). πάνδημος is derived from παν- (pan-, prefix meaning ‘all, every’) (ultim... 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 "pandemic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

passages#11,577outreach#11,574navigate#11,571mutually#11,570

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

preacher12 variantsmanifest12 variantsignition12 variantsgreeting12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list