agnosticism

/æɡˈnɒstɪsɪzəm/

//æɡˈnɒstɪsɪzəm// noun

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

"agnosticism" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“agnosticism” is uncommon English (frequency #61,946 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#61,946
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The view that absolute truth or ultimate certainty is unattainable, especially regarding knowledge not based on experience or perceivable phenomena.

Corpus desk

Index EN-agnosticism · agnosticism · English

agnosticism · rank #61,946 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #61,946
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH agonising

Nearest frequency peer: agonising (+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 “agnosticism”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for agnosticism
PropertyValue
Headwordagnosticism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/æɡˈnɒstɪsɪzəm/
Letters11
Frequency rank#61,946
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “agnosticism” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).agnosticismfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “agonising” (#61,947), “aeolian” (#61,944), “Adlai” (#61,943). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “agnosticism” is #61,946. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

agnosticism is uncommon English at frequency #61,946 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /æɡˈnɒstɪsɪzəm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for agnosticism, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: Coined by Thomas Henry Huxley. From a- + gnostic + -ism (see also agnostic). The correct English form is agnosticism, spelled A-G-N-O-S-T-I-C-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The view that absolute truth or ultimate certainty is unattainable, especially regarding knowledge not based on experience or perceivable phenomena.
  2. 2
    The view that the existence of God or of all deities is unknown, unknowable, unproven, or unprovable.
  3. 3
    Doubt, uncertainty, or scepticism regarding the existence of a god or gods.
  4. 4
    Doubt, uncertainty, or scepticism regarding any subject of dispute.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Holonyms: epistemology, cosmology, ontology, philosophy
  2. 1956, January 31ˢᵗ: Alan Alexander Milne; quoted in:

Etymology

Coined by Thomas Henry Huxley. From a- + gnostic + -ism (see also agnostic).

This word in other languages

agnosticismo(Español)agnosticisme(Français)Agnostizismus(Deutsch)agnosticismo(Português)

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 "agnosticism"?
"agnosticism" is spelled A-G-N-O-S-T-I-C-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /æɡˈnɒstɪsɪzəm/.
What does "agnosticism" mean?
As a noun, "agnosticism" means: The view that absolute truth or ultimate certainty is unattainable, especially regarding knowledge not based on experience or perceivable phenomena.
How do you pronounce "agnosticism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "agnosticism" is /æɡˈnɒstɪsɪzəm/. 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 "agnosticism"?
Coined by Thomas Henry Huxley. From a- + gnostic + -ism (see also agnostic). 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 "agnosticism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

addressable#61,942Baskerville#61,994bilaterally#62,002typographic#61,882

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list