childishness

/ˈt͡ʃaɪld.ɪʃ.nəs/

//ˈt͡ʃaɪld.ɪʃ.nəs// noun

"childishness" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“childishness” is uncommon English (frequency #70,565 among 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,565
frequency rank, English
43,570
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The state or characteristic of being childish.

Corpus desk

Index EN-childishness · childishness · English

childishness · rank #70,565 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #70,565
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 43,570
  • PHOTO-FINISH cheesesteak

Nearest frequency peer: cheesesteak (-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 “childishness”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “childishness” 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 childishness
PropertyValue
Headwordchildishness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈt͡ʃaɪld.ɪʃ.nəs/
Letters12
Frequency rank#70,565
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “childishness” 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). childishness 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

childishness is uncommon English at frequency #70,565 among 43,570 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈt͡ʃaɪld.ɪʃ.nəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

childishness doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English childishnes, childisnes, equivalent to childish + -ness. The correct English form is childishness, spelled C-H-I-L-D-I-S-H-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state or characteristic of being childish.
  2. 2
    Childish behaviour.

Etymology

From Middle English childishnes, childisnes, equivalent to childish + -ness.

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 "childishness"?
"childishness" is spelled C-H-I-L-D-I-S-H-N-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈt͡ʃaɪld.ɪʃ.nəs/.
What does "childishness" mean?
As a noun, "childishness" means: The state or characteristic of being childish.
How do you pronounce "childishness"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "childishness" is /ˈt͡ʃaɪld.ɪʃ.nəs/. 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 "childishness"?
From Middle English childishnes, childisnes, equivalent to childish + -ness. 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 "childishness", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 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