viscosity
/vɪsˈkɑsɪti/
"viscosity" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“viscosity” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #24,633 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #24,633
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The state of being viscous.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | viscosity |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /vɪsˈkɑsɪti/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #24,633 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “viscosity” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for viscosity is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /vɪsˈkɑsɪti/. Corpus data places it at rank #24,633 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for viscosity, with forms such as "ivscosity", "vicsosity", and "visccosity". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French viscosité, from Old French viscosité, from Medieval Latin viscositas; analysable as viscous + -ity. The correct English form is viscosity, spelled V-I-S-C-O-S-I-T-Y.
Definition
- 1The state of being viscous.
- 2A quantity expressing the magnitude of internal friction in a fluid, as measured by the force per unit area resisting uniform flow.
- 3A tendency to prolong interpersonal encounters.
Etymology
From Middle French viscosité, from Old French viscosité, from Medieval Latin viscositas; analysable as viscous + -ity.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ivscosity,vicsosity,visccosity,viscoisty,viscositty,viscosityy,viscosiyt,viscossity,viscostiy,viscsoity,visocsity,visscosity,vsicosity,vviscosity
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of viscosity - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "viscosity"?
What does "viscosity" mean?
What are common misspellings of "viscosity"?
How do you pronounce "viscosity"?
What is the origin of the word "viscosity"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “viscosity”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is V-I-S-C-O-S-I-T-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /vɪsˈkɑsɪti/ (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.