chiasmus
/kaɪˈæzməs/
"chiasmus" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“chiasmus” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An inversion of the relationship between the elements of phrases.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | chiasmus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kaɪˈæzməs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “chiasmus” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
chiasmus is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /kaɪˈæzməs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An inversion of the relationship between the elements of phrases.".
Zero misspellings are on record for chiasmus in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek χῑασμός (khīasmós), from χῑάζω (khīázō, “to mark with an X”), from χ (kh, “chi”). The correct English form is chiasmus, spelled C-H-I-A-S-M-U-S.
Definition
- 1An inversion of the relationship between the elements of phrases.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek χῑασμός (khīasmós), from χῑάζω (khīázō, “to mark with an X”), from χ (kh, “chi”).
Synonyms
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “chiasmus”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-H-I-A-S-M-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kaɪˈæzməs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.