eclecticism

noun

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

"eclecticism" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“eclecticism” is uncommon English (frequency #64,345 among 18,836 “E” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,345
frequency rank, English
18,836
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The quality of being eclectic.

Key facts for eclecticism
PropertyValue
Headwordeclecticism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Frequency rank#64,345
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “eclecticism” 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). eclecticism 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

eclecticism is uncommon English at frequency #64,345 among 18,836 “E” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for eclecticism in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From eclectic + -ism. The correct English form is eclecticism, spelled E-C-L-E-C-T-I-C-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The quality of being eclectic.
  2. 2
    The quality of being eclectic.
  3. 3
    The quality of being eclectic.
  4. 4
    The selection of diverse witnesses to a text.

Etymology

From eclectic + -ism.

This word in other languages

éclectisme(Français)Eklektizismus(Deutsch)ecletismo(Português)

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 "eclecticism"?
"eclecticism" is spelled E-C-L-E-C-T-I-C-I-S-M.
What does "eclecticism" mean?
As a noun, "eclecticism" means: The quality of being eclectic.
What is the origin of the word "eclecticism"?
From eclectic + -ism. 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 “eclecticism”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is E-C-L-E-C-T-I-C-I-S-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list