agnostic
/aɡˈnɒstɪk/
"agnostic" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“agnostic” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #28,104 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #28,104
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Doubtful or uncertain about the existence or demonstrability of God or other deity.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | agnostic |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /aɡˈnɒstɪk/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #28,104 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “agnostic” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for agnostic is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /aɡˈnɒstɪk/. Corpus data places it at rank #28,104 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for agnostic, with forms such as "aggnostic", "agnnostic", and "agnositc". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Coined by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1870. Either from Ancient Greek ἄγνωστος (ágnōstos, “ignorant, not knowing”), or from a- + Gnostic, deriving (either way) from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not”) + γιγνώσκω (gignṓskō, “I know”). The correct English form is agnostic, spelled A-G-N-O-S-T-I-C.
Definition
- 1Doubtful or uncertain about the existence or demonstrability of God or other deity.
- 2Having no firmly held opinions on something.
- 3Of or relating to agnosticism or its adherents.
- 4Unaware or noncommittal regarding the specific nature of the components or input with which it interacts.
Etymology
Coined by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1870. Either from Ancient Greek ἄγνωστος (ágnōstos, “ignorant, not knowing”), or from a- + Gnostic, deriving (either way) from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not”) + γιγνώσκω (gignṓskō, “I know”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: aggnostic,agnnostic,agnositc,agnosstic,agnostci,agnosticc,agnosttic,agnotsic,agnsotic,agonstic,angostic,ganostic
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of agnostic - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “agnostic”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-G-N-O-S-T-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /aɡˈnɒstɪk/ (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.