vice versa
/ˈvaɪsɪ ˈvɜːsə/
"vice-versa" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“vice versa” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adverb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The same but with the two items mentioned reversed.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | vice versa |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /ˈvaɪsɪ ˈvɜːsə/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “vice versa” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for vice versa is 10 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈvaɪsɪ ˈvɜːsə/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "The same but with the two items mentioned reversed.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for vice versa, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin ablative absolute vice versā (“the position having been reversed”), from feminine third declension noun vicis (“arrangement, order, position”) + feminine ablative singular of perfect passive participle versus, from vertō (“to turn, to re… The correct English form is vice versa, spelled V-I-C-E- -V-E-R-S-A.
Definition
- 1The same but with the two items mentioned reversed.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin ablative absolute vice versā (“the position having been reversed”), from feminine third declension noun vicis (“arrangement, order, position”) + feminine ablative singular of perfect passive participle versus, from vertō (“to turn, to reverse”).
Synonyms
Antonyms
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “vice versa”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is V-I-C-E- -V-E-R-S-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈvaɪsɪ ˈvɜːsə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.