behaviorism

noun

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

The verdict

“behaviorism” is uncommon English (frequency #78,398 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,398
frequency rank, English
31,241
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An approach to psychology focusing on observable behavior which, generally assuming that behavior is determined by the environment and denying any independent significance for mind, largely ignores...

Corpus desk

Index EN-behaviorism · behaviorism · English

behaviorism · rank #78,398 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #78,398
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 31,241
  • PHOTO-FINISH believability

Nearest frequency peer: believability (+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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “behaviorism”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “behaviorism” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for behaviorism
PropertyValue
Headwordbehaviorism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Frequency rank#78,398
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “behaviorism” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

behaviorism is uncommon English at frequency #78,398 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An approach to psychology focusing on observable behavior which, generally assuming that behavior is determined by the environment and denying any independent significance for mind, largely ignores...".

behaviorism has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From behavior + -ism. The correct English form is behaviorism, spelled B-E-H-A-V-I-O-R-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    An approach to psychology focusing on observable behavior which, generally assuming that behavior is determined by the environment and denying any independent significance for mind, largely ignores any pathophysiological processes which may, or may not, underlie subjective, behavioral phenomena.

Etymology

From behavior + -ism.

Synonyms

behavioral psychology

This word in other languages

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "behaviorism"?
"behaviorism" is spelled B-E-H-A-V-I-O-R-I-S-M.
What does "behaviorism" mean?
As a noun, "behaviorism" means: An approach to psychology focusing on observable behavior which, generally assuming that behavior is determined by the environment and denying any independent significance for mind, largely ignores...
What is the origin of the word "behaviorism"?
From behavior + -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 "behaviorism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list