autism

/ˈɔːtɪzəm/

//ˈɔːtɪzəm// noun

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

"autism" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“autism” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,417. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,417
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A pervasive neurological condition that is observable in early childhood and persists throughout the lifespan, characterised by atypical communication patterns (e.g., differences in body language o...

Corpus desk

Index EN-autism · autism · English

autism · rank #7,417 · 8 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,417
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH armor

Nearest frequency peer: armor (-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 “autism”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “autism” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

autism vs artist
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for autism
PropertyValue
Headwordautism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɔːtɪzəm/
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,417
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “autism”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).autismlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “armor” (#7,416), “bachelor” (#7,418), “ankle” (#7,415). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “autism” is #7,417. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around autism (IPA /ˈɔːtɪzəm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,417 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for autism, with forms such as "atuism", "auitsm", and "autims". 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 also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "artist", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from German Autismus, coined by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler, first usage dated to 1907 attributed by Carl Jung as an alternative of his for "auto-erotism", although Bleuler himself differentiates the terms in his book Dementia Praecox, first p… The correct English form is autism, spelled A-U-T-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A pervasive neurological condition that is observable in early childhood and persists throughout the lifespan, characterised by atypical communication patterns (e.g., differences in body language or eye contact), delayed language development, and sensory processing sensitivities.
  2. 2
    A pervasive neurological condition that is observable in early childhood and persists throughout the lifespan, characterised by atypical communication patterns (e.g., differences in body language or eye contact), delayed language development, and sensory processing sensitivities.
  3. 3
    A diagnosis involving a pathological tendency to engage in self-centered fantasy thinking, historically considered a symptom of insanity or schizophrenia.
  4. 4
    Abnormal and unhealthy focus or persistence, stereotypically coupled with low self-awareness and unhealthy hatred of opposition or criticism.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.
  2. weaponized autism

Etymology

Borrowed from German Autismus, coined by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler, first usage dated to 1907 attributed by Carl Jung as an alternative of his for "auto-erotism", although Bleuler himself differentiates the terms in his book Dementia Praecox, first published 1911. From Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós, “self”) + -ισμός (-ismós, “-ism”).

Synonyms

autistic spectrum

This word in other languages

autismo(Español)autisme(Français)Autismus(Deutsch)autismo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atuism
  • auitsm
  • autims
  • autismm
  • autissm
  • autsim
  • auttism
  • uatism

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of autism - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

atuism2auitsm2autims2autismm1autissm1autsim2auttism1uatism2
Edit distance from "autism"

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 "autism"?
"autism" is spelled A-U-T-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɔːtɪzəm/.
What does "autism" mean?
As a noun, "autism" means: A pervasive neurological condition that is observable in early childhood and persists throughout the lifespan, characterised by atypical communication patterns (e.g., differences in body language o...
What words are commonly confused with "autism"?
"autism" is commonly confused with "artist". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "autism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "autism" is /ˈɔːtɪzəm/. 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 "autism"?
Borrowed from German Autismus, coined by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler, first usage dated to 1907 attributed by Carl Jung as an alternative of his for "auto-erotism", although Bleuler himself differentiates the terms in his book Dementia Praeco... 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 "autism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

admire#7,412Vienna#7,408slower#7,398sequel#7,394

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Brady8 variantsclash8 variantsrefugee8 variantsgrasp8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list