retrovirus
"retrovirus" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“retrovirus” is uncommon English (frequency #63,198 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #63,198
- frequency rank, English
- 3,094
- “R” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of a group of viruses which insert a copy of their RNA genome into the DNA of a host cell, thus changing the genome of that cell.
Corpus desk
Index EN-retrovirus · retrovirus · English
retrovirus · rank #63,198 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #63,198
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,094
- PHOTO-FINISH resveratrol
Nearest frequency peer: resveratrol (-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 “retrovirus”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- reem
reem
36,808 corpus weight
- reexamine
reexamine
36,807 corpus weight
- resubmit
resubmit
36,805 corpus weight
- resveratrol
resveratrol
36,804 corpus weight
- retrovirus
retrovirus
36,803 corpus weight
- rideau
rideau
36,799 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “retrovirus” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | retrovirus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #63,198 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “retrovirus” in English
Rare enough to double-check
retrovirus is uncommon English at frequency #63,198 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for retrovirus, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From retro- + virus, from its reverse direction of replication. The correct English form is retrovirus, spelled R-E-T-R-O-V-I-R-U-S.
Definition
- 1Any of a group of viruses which insert a copy of their RNA genome into the DNA of a host cell, thus changing the genome of that cell.
- 2A computer virus that seeks to attack antivirus programs in an attempt to avoid detection.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how retrovirus appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Montagnier soon deduced that this was an RNA virus that could convert its genes into DNA and lodge into the human genome—a retrovirus.
Etymology
From retro- + virus, from its reverse direction of replication.
This word in other languages
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "retrovirus", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).