authoritarianism

/ɔˌθɔːɹɪˈtɛːɹiən.ɪzm̩/

//ɔˌθɔːɹɪˈtɛːɹiən.ɪzm̩// noun

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

"authoritarianism" is a 16-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“authoritarianism” has 23 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,823. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#28,823
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
23
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A form of government in which the governing body has absolute, or almost absolute, control. Typically this control is maintained by force, and little heed is paid to public opinion or the judicial ...

Corpus desk

Index EN-authoritarianism · authoritarianism · English

authoritarianism · rank #28,823 · 23 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #28,823
  • LEN-MEGA 16 letters
  • VOW-8 8 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 23 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH austere

Nearest frequency peer: austere (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “authoritarianism”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “authoritarianism” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for authoritarianism
PropertyValue
Headwordauthoritarianism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɔˌθɔːɹɪˈtɛːɹiən.ɪzm̩/
Letters16
Frequency rank#28,823
Misspellings tracked23
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “authoritarianism”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).authoritarianismlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “austere” (#28,822), “awkwardness” (#28,824), “ASL” (#28,821). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “authoritarianism” is #28,823. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 23 spelling variants around authoritarianism (IPA /ɔˌθɔːɹɪˈtɛːɹiən.ɪzm̩/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #28,823 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A form of government in which the governing body has absolute, or almost absolute, control. Typically this control is maintained by force, and little heed is paid to public opinion or the judicial ...".

Our generated misspelling index lists 23 likely wrong-spelling variants for authoritarianism, with forms such as "atuhoritarianism", "auhtoritarianism", and "authhoritarianism". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From authoritarian + -ism. The correct English form is authoritarianism, spelled A-U-T-H-O-R-I-T-A-R-I-A-N-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A form of government in which the governing body has absolute, or almost absolute, control. Typically this control is maintained by force, and little heed is paid to public opinion or the judicial system.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Near-synonyms: dictatorialism; autocratism; totalitarianism (see usage note there)
  2. This is the struggle of our time. The forces of freedom, openness and global community against the forces of authoritarianism, isolationism and nationalism.

Etymology

From authoritarian + -ism.

This word in other languages

autoritarismo(Español)autoritarisme(Français)Autoritarismus(Deutsch)autoritarismo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atuhoritarianism
  • auhtoritarianism
  • authhoritarianism
  • authoirtarianism
  • authoriatrianism
  • authoritairanism
  • authoritarainism
  • authoritariainsm
  • authoritarianims
  • authoritarianismm
  • authoritarianissm
  • authoritariannism
  • authoritariansim
  • authoritarinaism
  • authoritarrianism
  • authoritraianism
  • authorittarianism
  • authorritarianism
  • authortiarianism
  • authroitarianism
  • autohritarianism
  • autthoritarianism
  • uathoritarianism

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of authoritarianism - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

atuhoritarianism2auhtoritarianism2authhoritarianism1authoirtarianism2authoriatrianism2authoritairanism2authoritarainism2authoritariainsm2
Edit distance from "authoritarianism"

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 "authoritarianism"?
"authoritarianism" is spelled A-U-T-H-O-R-I-T-A-R-I-A-N-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ɔˌθɔːɹɪˈtɛːɹiən.ɪzm̩/.
What does "authoritarianism" mean?
As a noun, "authoritarianism" means: A form of government in which the governing body has absolute, or almost absolute, control. Typically this control is maintained by force, and little heed is paid to public opinion or the judicial ...
What are common misspellings of "authoritarianism"?
Common misspellings include "atuhoritarianism", "auhtoritarianism", "authhoritarianism", "authoirtarianism", "authoriatrianism". The correct spelling is "authoritarianism".
How do you pronounce "authoritarianism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "authoritarianism" is /ɔˌθɔːɹɪˈtɛːɹiən.ɪzm̩/. 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 "authoritarianism"?
From authoritarian + -ism. 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 "authoritarianism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 16 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

transformational#29,129indiscriminately#29,692Northamptonshire#30,514interoperability#31,224

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (23 here; floor ≥5).

unsurprisingly23 variantselectrification23 variantstranscendental23 variantsphotosynthesis23 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list