ableism

/ˈeɪ.bə.lɪ.zəm/

//ˈeɪ.bə.lɪ.zəm// noun

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

"ableism" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ableism” is uncommon English (frequency #75,591 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,591
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Discrimination or prejudice against individuals with physical, intellectual, psychiatric, or other disabilities.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ableism · ableism · English

ableism · rank #75,591 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #75,591
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH abhorrence

Nearest frequency peer: abhorrence (-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 “ableism”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ableism
PropertyValue
Headwordableism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈeɪ.bə.lɪ.zəm/
Letters7
Frequency rank#75,591
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ableism” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).ableismfalls 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: “abhorrence” (#75,590), “abracadabra” (#75,593), “accessorize” (#75,595). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “ableism” is #75,591. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ableism is uncommon English at frequency #75,591 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈeɪ.bə.lɪ.zəm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

ableism has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From able + -ism, modelled on racism, sexism, etc. The correct English form is ableism, spelled A-B-L-E-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Discrimination or prejudice against individuals with physical, intellectual, psychiatric, or other disabilities.
  2. 2
    An instance of ableism.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ableism appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. [from late 20th c.]
  2. Ableism is your ability to find reasons to push us aside to keeps us in cages, leave our struggles out of the history pages … pretend we never existed. Ableism is when you say I'm the only disabled friend you've ever had. Ableism is when you say that and still don't understand why we feel invisible. Ableism is when you think I don't have a disability beca…

Etymology

From able + -ism, modelled on racism, sexism, etc.

Synonyms

able-bodyismable-bodiedismableismanapirismanapirophobiadisablismhandicapism

This word in other languages

capacitismo(Español)validisme(Français)Ableismus(Deutsch)

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 "ableism"?
"ableism" is spelled A-B-L-E-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈeɪ.bə.lɪ.zəm/.
What does "ableism" mean?
As a noun, "ableism" means: Discrimination or prejudice against individuals with physical, intellectual, psychiatric, or other disabilities.
How do you pronounce "ableism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ableism" is /ˈeɪ.bə.lɪ.zəm/. 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 "ableism"?
From able + -ism, modelled on racism, sexism, etc. 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 "ableism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Akiyama#75,601Aldgate#75,604Wyckoff#75,568uptrend#75,531

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list