democratic

/ˌdɛm.əˈkɹæt.ɪk/

//ˌdɛm.əˈkɹæt.ɪk// adj

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

The verdict

“democratic” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,893 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#1,893
frequency rank, English
10
letters
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Pertaining to democracy; constructed upon or in line with the principle of government chosen by the people.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

democratic vs democrat
80% similar

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

Key facts for democratic
PropertyValue
Headworddemocratic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌdɛm.əˈkɹæt.ɪk/
Letters10
Frequency rank#1,893
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “democratic” 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). democratic lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for democratic is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌdɛm.əˈkɹæt.ɪk/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,893 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for democratic, with forms such as "ddemocratic", "demcoratic", and "demmocratic". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "democrat", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French democratique (“pertaining to democracy, democratic”) (modern French démocratique), and its etymon Late Latin democraticus (“pertaining to democracy, democratic; democrat”), from Ancient Greek δημοκρᾰτῐκός (dēmokrătĭkós, “of or for democra… The correct English form is democratic, spelled D-E-M-O-C-R-A-T-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pertaining to democracy; constructed upon or in line with the principle of government chosen by the people.
  2. 2
    Exhibiting social equality; egalitarian.
  3. 3
    Alternative letter-case form of Democratic (“of, pertaining to, or supporting the Democratic Party”).

Etymology

From Middle French democratique (“pertaining to democracy, democratic”) (modern French démocratique), and its etymon Late Latin democraticus (“pertaining to democracy, democratic; democrat”), from Ancient Greek δημοκρᾰτῐκός (dēmokrătĭkós, “of or for democracy; favouring or suited for democracy”), from δημοκρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (dēmokrătĭ́ā, “democracy”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, suffix with the sense ‘of or pertaining’ to forming adjectives). Δημοκρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (Dēmokrătĭ́ā) is derived from δῆμος (dêmos, “the common people; free citizens, sovereign people; popular assembly; popular government, democracy”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂- (“to divide; to share”)) + -κρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (-krătĭ́ā, suffix meaning ‘government; rule’) (from κρᾰ́τος (krắtos, “might, strength; dominion, power”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kret- (“insight, intelligence; strength”)) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns)). By surface analysis, demo- + -cratic or democrat + -ic.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ddemocratic,demcoratic,demmocratic,democartic,democcratic,democraitc,democratci,democraticc,democrattic,democrratic,democrtaic,demorcatic,deomcratic,dmeocratic,edmocratic

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of democratic - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ddemocratic1demcoratic2demmocratic1democartic2democcratic1democraitc2democratci2democraticc1
Edit distance from "democratic"

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 "democratic"?
"democratic" is spelled D-E-M-O-C-R-A-T-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌdɛm.əˈkɹæt.ɪk/.
What does "democratic" mean?
As an adjective, "democratic" means: Pertaining to democracy; constructed upon or in line with the principle of government chosen by the people.
What words are commonly confused with "democratic"?
"democratic" is commonly confused with "democrat". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "democratic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "democratic" is /ˌdɛm.əˈkɹæt.ɪk/. 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 "democratic"?
From Middle French democratique (“pertaining to democracy, democratic”) (modern French démocratique), and its etymon Late Latin democraticus (“pertaining to democracy, democratic; democrat”), from Ancient Greek δημοκρᾰτῐκός (dēmokrătĭkós, “of or f... 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.

Using “democratic”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is D-E-M-O-C-R-A-T-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˌdɛm.əˈkɹæt.ɪk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “democrat” - see the side-by-side comparison. democratic vs democrat
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list