authoritarian
/ɔːˌθɒɹ.ɪˈtɛə̯.ɹɪən/
"authoritarian" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“authoritarian” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #13,095 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #13,095
- frequency rank, English
- 13
- letters
- 18
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of, or relating to, or exhibiting strict obedience to an authority; favoring authoritarianism over civic and individual liberties.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | authoritarian |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɔːˌθɒɹ.ɪˈtɛə̯.ɹɪən/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #13,095 |
| Misspellings tracked | 18 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “authoritarian” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for authoritarian is 13 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɔːˌθɒɹ.ɪˈtɛə̯.ɹɪən/. Corpus data places it at rank #13,095 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for authoritarian, with forms such as "atuhoritarian", "auhtoritarian", and "authhoritarian". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From authority + -arian, circa 1880. The correct English form is authoritarian, spelled A-U-T-H-O-R-I-T-A-R-I-A-N.
Definition
- 1Of, or relating to, or exhibiting strict obedience to an authority; favoring authoritarianism over civic and individual liberties.
- 2Demanding obedience to authority; marked by authoritarianism; dictatorial, tyrannical.
- 3Tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority.
Etymology
From authority + -arian, circa 1880.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: atuhoritarian,auhtoritarian,authhoritarian,authoirtarian,authoriatrian,authoritairan,authoritarain,authoritariann,authoritarina,authoritarrian,authoritraian,authorittarian,authorritarian,authortiarian,authroitarian,autohritarian,autthoritarian,uathoritarian
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of authoritarian - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 “authoritarian”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-U-T-H-O-R-I-T-A-R-I-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɔːˌθɒɹ.ɪˈtɛə̯.ɹɪən/ (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.