The word "variolosser" may seem perplexing to spell at first, but its pronunciation in IPA phonetics is /vəˈri.ə.lɒs.ər/. The first syllable, "vario," is pronounced with a schwa sound, followed by "los" pronounced with a short o sound. The final syllable, "ser," is pronounced with a stronger emphasis on the vowel sound, and ends with an "er" sound. This word refers to a person or thing that lessens the severity of smallpox, a disease that wreaked havoc prior to the development of vaccines.