urticaria

/ˌɜɹtɪˈkɛəɹi.ə/

//ˌɜɹtɪˈkɛəɹi.ə// noun

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

"urticaria" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“urticaria” is uncommon English (frequency #70,368 among 1,433 “U” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,368
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Itchy, swollen, red areas of the skin which can appear quickly in response to an allergen or other conditions.

Corpus desk

Index EN-urticaria · urticaria · English

urticaria · rank #70,368 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #70,368
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH upend

Nearest frequency peer: upend (-2 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 “urticaria”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “urticaria” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for urticaria
PropertyValue
Headwordurticaria
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌɜɹtɪˈkɛəɹi.ə/
Letters9
Frequency rank#70,368
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “urticaria” in English

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).urticariafalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “upend” (#70,366), “Valens” (#70,371), “unroll” (#70,364). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “urticaria” is #70,368. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

urticaria is uncommon English at frequency #70,368 among 1,433 “U” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌɜɹtɪˈkɛəɹi.ə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Itchy, swollen, red areas of the skin which can appear quickly in response to an allergen or other conditions.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for urticaria, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from New Latin urtīcāria, from Latin urtīca (“nettle”) + -āria. The correct English form is urticaria, spelled U-R-T-I-C-A-R-I-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Itchy, swollen, red areas of the skin which can appear quickly in response to an allergen or other conditions.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. "And the cramps when my body - like a badly articulated skeleton - would all get twisted into one rigid tangle! But now, except some dyspepsia and urticaria of the palms, I am free from pain."
  2. So when I was diagnosed with a fairly difficult-to-treat disease called idiopathic angioedema and chronic urticaria (a fancy way of saying we don’t know why you swell and hey, enjoy the 24/7 hives) six months ago, I wasn't quite sure how to cope.

Etymology

Borrowed from New Latin urtīcāria, from Latin urtīca (“nettle”) + -āria.

Synonyms

hivesnettle-rash

This word in other languages

urticaria(Español)urticaire(Français)Nesselfieber(Deutsch)urticária(Português)

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 "urticaria"?
"urticaria" is spelled U-R-T-I-C-A-R-I-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɜɹtɪˈkɛəɹi.ə/.
What does "urticaria" mean?
As a noun, "urticaria" means: Itchy, swollen, red areas of the skin which can appear quickly in response to an allergen or other conditions.
How do you pronounce "urticaria"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "urticaria" is /ˌɜɹtɪˈkɛəɹi.ə/. 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 "urticaria"?
Borrowed from New Latin urtīcāria, from Latin urtīca (“nettle”) + -āria. 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 "urticaria", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ultrafast#70,357taillight#70,316subsiding#70,302adjacency#70,437

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list