ultraviolet

/ˌʌltɹəˈvaɪələt/

//ˌʌltɹəˈvaɪələt// adj

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

"ultraviolet" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ultraviolet” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,978. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,978
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords
16
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of electromagnetic radiation beyond (higher in frequency than) light visible to the human eye; radiation with wavelengths from 380 to 10 nanometres.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ultraviolet · ultraviolet · English

ultraviolet · rank #18,978 · 16 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,978
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH turquoise

Nearest frequency peer: turquoise (-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 “ultraviolet”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “ultraviolet” 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 ultraviolet
PropertyValue
Headwordultraviolet
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌʌltɹəˈvaɪələt/
Letters11
Frequency rank#18,978
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ultraviolet”

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).ultravioletlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “turquoise” (#18,977), “unbiased” (#18,979), “treble” (#18,976). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “ultraviolet” is #18,978. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around ultraviolet (IPA /ˌʌltɹəˈvaɪələt/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #18,978 among 1,433 “U” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for ultraviolet, with forms such as "lutraviolet", "ulltraviolet", and "ulrtaviolet". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Latin ūls Proto-Indo-European *-teros? Latin -ter Old Latin -ād Latin -ā Latin ultrālbor. English ultra- Latin viola Old French -ette Old French violettebor. Middle English violet English violet English ultraviolet … The correct English form is ultraviolet, spelled U-L-T-R-A-V-I-O-L-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of electromagnetic radiation beyond (higher in frequency than) light visible to the human eye; radiation with wavelengths from 380 to 10 nanometres.
  2. 2
    Relating to very high energies or very small distances or time spans.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Micron said in a statement that it would bring extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology to Japan, becoming the first semiconductor company to do so, and expected to invest up to 500 billion yen ($3.6 billion) with support from the Japanese government.
  2. A one-loop Feynman graph that represents a virtual process. In the limit in which the virtual process involves short distances or high momenta, one may find an ultraviolet divergence in the corresponding amplitude.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Latin ūls Proto-Indo-European *-teros? Latin -ter Old Latin -ād Latin -ā Latin ultrālbor. English ultra- Latin viola Old French -ette Old French violettebor. Middle English violet English violet English ultraviolet From ultra- (“beyond”) + violet (“violet”).

This word in other languages

ultraviolet(Français)ultraviolett(Deutsch)ultravioleta(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lutraviolet
  • ulltraviolet
  • ulrtaviolet
  • ultarviolet
  • ultraivolet
  • ultraviloet
  • ultravioelt
  • ultraviolett
  • ultraviollet
  • ultraviolte
  • ultravoilet
  • ultravviolet
  • ultrraviolet
  • ultrvaiolet
  • ulttraviolet
  • utlraviolet

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

lutraviolet2ulltraviolet1ulrtaviolet2ultarviolet2ultraivolet2ultraviloet2ultravioelt2ultraviolett1
Edit distance from "ultraviolet"

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 "ultraviolet"?
"ultraviolet" is spelled U-L-T-R-A-V-I-O-L-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌʌltɹəˈvaɪələt/.
What does "ultraviolet" mean?
As an adjective, "ultraviolet" means: Of electromagnetic radiation beyond (higher in frequency than) light visible to the human eye; radiation with wavelengths from 380 to 10 nanometres.
What are common misspellings of "ultraviolet"?
Common misspellings include "lutraviolet", "ulltraviolet", "ulrtaviolet", "ultarviolet", "ultraivolet". The correct spelling is "ultraviolet".
How do you pronounce "ultraviolet"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ultraviolet" is /ˌʌltɹəˈvaɪələt/. 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 "ultraviolet"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Latin ūls Proto-Indo-European *-teros? Latin -ter Old Latin -ād Latin -ā Latin ultrālbor. English ultra- Latin viola Old French -ette Old French violettebor. Middle English violet English violet English ul... 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 "ultraviolet", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

behavioural#19,022penetrating#18,914matchmaking#18,885intervening#18,860

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

precedence16 variantspassionately16 variantscommissioning16 variantshandwritten16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list