varicella

/ˌvæɹɪˈsɛlə/

//ˌvæɹɪˈsɛlə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“varicella” is uncommon English (frequency #72,014 among 969 “V” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#72,014
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - chicken pox

Corpus desk

Index EN-varicella · varicella · English

varicella · rank #72,014 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #72,014
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH verbalize

Nearest frequency peer: verbalize (+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 “varicella”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for varicella
PropertyValue
Headwordvaricella
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌvæɹɪˈsɛlə/
Letters9
Frequency rank#72,014
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “varicella” 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).varicellafalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “verbalize” (#72,015), “Valyrian” (#72,012), “Valerius” (#72,011). Among 969 “V” headwords, “varicella” is #72,014. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

varicella is uncommon English at frequency #72,014 among 969 “V” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌvæɹɪˈsɛlə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for varicella, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From New Latin varicella, diminutive of variola (“pox”). The correct English form is varicella, spelled V-A-R-I-C-E-L-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    chicken pox
  2. 2
    Any of various other eruptive diseases, such as swinepox, hives, and varioloid.

Etymology

From New Latin varicella, diminutive of variola (“pox”).

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 "varicella"?
"varicella" is spelled V-A-R-I-C-E-L-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌvæɹɪˈsɛlə/.
What does "varicella" mean?
As a noun, "varicella" means: chicken pox
How do you pronounce "varicella"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "varicella" is /ˌvæɹɪˈsɛlə/. 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 "varicella"?
From New Latin varicella, diminutive of variola (“pox”). 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 "varicella", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

verbalize#72,015victimize#72,018unreality#72,006underling#71,998

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list