Bolshevism

/ˈbɒlʃəˌvɪz(ə)m/

//ˈbɒlʃəˌvɪz(ə)m// noun

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

"bolshevism" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Bolshevism” is uncommon English (frequency #55,966 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,966
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The strategy used by the Bolsheviks in attempting to gain power in Russia.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bolshevism · Bolshevism · English

Bolshevism · rank #55,966 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #55,966
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH botulism

Nearest frequency peer: botulism (+2 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 “Bolshevism”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Bolshevism
PropertyValue
HeadwordBolshevism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɒlʃəˌvɪz(ə)m/
Letters10
Frequency rank#55,966
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Bolshevism” in English

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “botulism” (#55,968), “Bloemfontein” (#55,963), “boxcar” (#55,969). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “Bolshevism” is #55,966. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Bolshevism is uncommon English at frequency #55,966 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbɒlʃəˌvɪz(ə)m/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for Bolshevism in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. 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: Borrowed from Russian большеви́зм (bolʹševízm, “Bolshevism”), from большинство (bolʹšinstvo, “majority, most”) (referring to the fact that the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party won on the majority of the important issues at the… The correct English form is Bolshevism, spelled B-O-L-S-H-E-V-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The strategy used by the Bolsheviks in attempting to gain power in Russia.
  2. 2
    The Communist political ideology adopted by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; Marxism-Leninism.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The split between the two trends of Bolshevism issued from questions of a very practical nature. [Alexander] Bogdanov and his group condemned participation in parliamentary, "bourgeois" politics. [Vladimir] Lenin, on the other hand, set the struggle for political power as the main task of the party. He was not occupied with creating and implanting an idea…
  2. We of this generation owe it to the countless dead, to the peoples now living, to our children and children's children not to let the present situation go by without attempting in good faith to establish among those nations that will tolerate neither Kaiserism nor Bolshevism such a form of international court and police power as will have for its purpose…

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian большеви́зм (bolʹševízm, “Bolshevism”), from большинство (bolʹšinstvo, “majority, most”) (referring to the fact that the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party won on the majority of the important issues at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1903) + -и́зм (-ízm, “-ism”, suffix forming the names of systems, schools of thought or theories based on the names of their subjects or objects). большинство is derived from большо́й (bolʹšój, “great, large”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bel-) + -ство (-stvo, suffix forming a neuter noun, usually an abstract noun denoting a relation, social status, scientific discipline, quality or state) (from Proto-Slavic *-ьstvo (suffix forming nouns denoting a condition or state)).

Antonyms

antibolshevism

This word in other languages

bolchevismo(Español)Bolschewismus(Deutsch)

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 "Bolshevism"?
"Bolshevism" is spelled B-O-L-S-H-E-V-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɒlʃəˌvɪz(ə)m/.
What does "Bolshevism" mean?
As a noun, "Bolshevism" means: The strategy used by the Bolsheviks in attempting to gain power in Russia.
How do you pronounce "Bolshevism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Bolshevism" is /ˈbɒlʃəˌvɪz(ə)m/. 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 "Bolshevism"?
Borrowed from Russian большеви́зм (bolʹševízm, “Bolshevism”), from большинство (bolʹšinstvo, “majority, most”) (referring to the fact that the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party won on the majority of the important iss... 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 "Bolshevism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

brandywine#55,972Brzezinski#55,978candelabra#55,989backgammon#55,934

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list