chauvinism

/ˈʃəʊ.vɪ.nɪ.zəm/

//ˈʃəʊ.vɪ.nɪ.zəm// noun

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

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

The verdict

“chauvinism” is uncommon English (frequency #53,438 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,438
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Excessive patriotism, eagerness for national superiority; jingoism.

Corpus desk

Index EN-chauvinism · chauvinism · English

chauvinism · rank #53,438 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #53,438
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH chantry

Nearest frequency peer: chantry (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “chauvinism”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for chauvinism
PropertyValue
Headwordchauvinism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʃəʊ.vɪ.nɪ.zəm/
Letters10
Frequency rank#53,438
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “chauvinism” in English

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).chauvinismfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “chantry” (#53,437), “Chantelle” (#53,436), “Cherbourg” (#53,440). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “chauvinism” is #53,438. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

chauvinism is uncommon English at frequency #53,438 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈʃəʊ.vɪ.nɪ.zəm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for chauvinism, 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 French chauvinisme (“idealistic devotion to Napoleon”), named for Nicolas Chauvin, a legendary and excessively patriotic soldier of the French First Republic. The figure of Chauvin became especially famous as a character in the play La Cocarde… The correct English form is chauvinism, spelled C-H-A-U-V-I-N-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Excessive patriotism, eagerness for national superiority; jingoism.
  2. 2
    Unwarranted bias, favoritism, or devotion to one's own particular group, cause, or idea.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. (C. S.) Lewis occasionally expressed a somewhat tongue-in-cheek chauvinism towards the English. Describing an encounter with a fellow Irishman, he wrote: "Like all Irish people who meet in England, we ended by criticisms on the invincible flippancy and dullness of the Anglo-Saxon race.
  2. Feminists say that male chauvinism is still prevalent in cultures worldwide.

Etymology

Borrowed from French chauvinisme (“idealistic devotion to Napoleon”), named for Nicolas Chauvin, a legendary and excessively patriotic soldier of the French First Republic. The figure of Chauvin became especially famous as a character in the play La Cocarde Tricolore by the Cogniard brothers.

Synonyms

jingoism

This word in other languages

chovinismo(Español)chauvinisme(Français)Chauvinismus(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 "chauvinism"?
"chauvinism" is spelled C-H-A-U-V-I-N-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃəʊ.vɪ.nɪ.zəm/.
What does "chauvinism" mean?
As a noun, "chauvinism" means: Excessive patriotism, eagerness for national superiority; jingoism.
How do you pronounce "chauvinism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chauvinism" is /ˈʃəʊ.vɪ.nɪ.zəm/. 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 "chauvinism"?
Borrowed from French chauvinisme (“idealistic devotion to Napoleon”), named for Nicolas Chauvin, a legendary and excessively patriotic soldier of the French First Republic. The figure of Chauvin became especially famous as a character in the play ... 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 "chauvinism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

chessboard#53,441comparator#53,454bandleader#53,390disbanding#53,499

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list