# athleticism vs athletics

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### athleticism
*noun · IPA /æθˈlɛtɪsɪzəm/ · frequency rank #29,547*
The state of being an athlete, or of taking part in athletic events.

### athletics
*noun · IPA /æθˈlɛtɪks/ · frequency rank #9,284*
A group of sporting activities including track and field, road running, cross country and racewalking.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/athleticism-vs-athletics