diocese
/ˈdaɪ.ə.sɪs/
"diocese" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“diocese” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,936 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #14,936
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An administrative division of the later Roman Empire, established by the Herodian tetrarchy.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | diocese |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdaɪ.ə.sɪs/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #14,936 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “diocese” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for diocese is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdaɪ.ə.sɪs/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,936 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for diocese, with forms such as "ddiocese", "dicoese", and "dioccese". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "dioceses", "diocesan", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English diocise, from Old French diocese, from Late Latin diocēsis, from Latin dioecēsis (“district under a governor”), from Ancient Greek διοίκησις (dioíkēsis, “internal administration”). The correct English form is diocese, spelled D-I-O-C-E-S-E.
Definition
- 1An administrative division of the later Roman Empire, established by the Herodian tetrarchy.
- 2An ecclesiastical territory administered by a bishop.
Etymology
From Middle English diocise, from Old French diocese, from Late Latin diocēsis, from Latin dioecēsis (“district under a governor”), from Ancient Greek διοίκησις (dioíkēsis, “internal administration”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddiocese,dicoese,dioccese,diocees,diocesse,diocsee,dioecse,doicese,idocese
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of diocese - 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.
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 "diocese"?
What does "diocese" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "diocese"?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “diocese”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-I-O-C-E-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdaɪ.ə.sɪs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “dioceses” - see the side-by-side comparison. diocese vs dioceses
- 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.