elitism
/ɪˈliːtɪzəm/
"elitism" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“elitism” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #45,354. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #45,354
- frequency rank, English
- 18,836
- “E” headwords
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The belief that a society or system should be run by an elite.
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 | elitism |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɪˈliːtɪzəm/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #45,354 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “elitism” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 10 spelling variants around elitism (IPA /ɪˈliːtɪzəm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #45,354 among 18,836 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for elitism, with forms such as "eiltism", "eliitsm", and "elitims". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "elitist", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From elite + -ism. First attested in the 1930s. The correct English form is elitism, spelled E-L-I-T-I-S-M.
Definition
- 1The belief that a society or system should be run by an elite.
- 2The superior attitude or behaviour associated with an elite.
Etymology
From elite + -ism. First attested in the 1930s.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- eiltism
- eliitsm
- elitims
- elitismm
- elitissm
- elitsim
- elittism
- ellitism
- eltiism
- leitism
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of elitism - 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 "elitism"?
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Using “elitism”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-L-I-T-I-S-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪˈliːtɪzəm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “elitist” - see the side-by-side comparison. elitism vs elitist
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Same frequency band
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.