charisma

/kəˈɹɪzmə/

//kəˈɹɪzmə// noun

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

"charisma" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“charisma” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,514. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,514
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A gift or power of leadership or authority.

Corpus desk

Index EN-charisma · charisma · English

charisma · rank #18,514 · 12 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,514
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH capitalize

Nearest frequency peer: capitalize (-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 “charisma”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “charisma” 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).

charisma vs Christa
63% similar
charisma vs Clarissa
63% similar

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

Key facts for charisma
PropertyValue
Headwordcharisma
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəˈɹɪzmə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#18,514
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “charisma”

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).charismalands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “capitalize” (#18,513), “Cheltenham” (#18,515), “Chesapeake” (#18,516). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “charisma” is #18,514. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around charisma (IPA /kəˈɹɪzmə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,514 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for charisma, with forms such as "cahrisma", "ccharisma", and "chairsma". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Christa", "Clarissa", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek χᾰ́ρῐσμᾰ (khắrĭsmă, “grace, favour, gift”), from χᾰρῐ́ζομαι (khărĭ́zomai, “I show favor”), from χᾰ́ρῐς (khắrĭs, “grace”), from the same root χαρ- (khar-) as χαίρω (khaírō, “I am happy”). Doublet of charism. First attested in 1875. Outside… The correct English form is charisma, spelled C-H-A-R-I-S-M-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A gift or power of leadership or authority.
  2. 2
    A gift or power of leadership or authority.
  3. 3
    A gift or power bestowed upon a person by the Holy Spirit; a grace.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The leader has his charisma.
  2. the charisma of a popular actor

Etymology

From Ancient Greek χᾰ́ρῐσμᾰ (khắrĭsmă, “grace, favour, gift”), from χᾰρῐ́ζομαι (khărĭ́zomai, “I show favor”), from χᾰ́ρῐς (khắrĭs, “grace”), from the same root χαρ- (khar-) as χαίρω (khaírō, “I am happy”). Doublet of charism. First attested in 1875. Outside of theology, as early as 1930, charisma was found in a translation of a book written by German sociologist Max Weber, which OED and Etymonline regards as a semantic loan from German Charisma, denoting the special ability of certain leaders to inspire devotion (sense 1). By the 1940s and more clearly in the 1950s, the term was used more loosely to refer to personal charm in general (sense 1.1).

Synonyms

charmspell

This word in other languages

carisma(Español)charisme(Français)Ausstrahlung(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cahrisma
  • ccharisma
  • chairsma
  • charimsa
  • charisam
  • charismma
  • charissma
  • charrisma
  • charsima
  • chharisma
  • chraisma
  • hcarisma

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of charisma - 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.

cahrisma2ccharisma1chairsma2charimsa2charisam2charismma1charissma1charrisma1
Edit distance from "charisma"

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 "charisma"?
"charisma" is spelled C-H-A-R-I-S-M-A. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈɹɪzmə/.
What does "charisma" mean?
As a noun, "charisma" means: A gift or power of leadership or authority.
What words are commonly confused with "charisma"?
"charisma" is commonly confused with "Christa", "Clarissa". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "charisma"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "charisma" is /kəˈɹɪzmə/. 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 "charisma"?
From Ancient Greek χᾰ́ρῐσμᾰ (khắrĭsmă, “grace, favour, gift”), from χᾰρῐ́ζομαι (khărĭ́zomai, “I show favor”), from χᾰ́ρῐς (khắrĭs, “grace”), from the same root χαρ- (khar-) as χαίρω (khaírō, “I am happy”). Doublet of charism. First attested in 187... 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 "charisma", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bungalow#18,509blossoms#18,502armoured#18,485divisive#18,544

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

classmate12 variantsapproving12 variantsacademies12 variantshardwood12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list