empiricism

Name: empiricism, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“empiricism” is uncommon English (frequency #54,153 among 18,836 “E” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,153
frequency rank, English: 18,836
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A doctrine which holds that the only or, at least, the most reliable source of human knowledge is experience, especially perception by means of the physical senses. (Often contrasted with rationali...

Key facts for empiricism
Property	Value
Headword	empiricism
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
Letters	10
Frequency rank	#54,153
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “empiricism” 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). empiricism lands here:

#54,153

#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

empiricism is uncommon English at frequency #54,153 among 18,836 “E” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for empiricism in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. 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 empiric + -ism. The correct English form is empiricism, spelled E-M-P-I-R-I-C-I-S-M.

Definition

1
A doctrine which holds that the only or, at least, the most reliable source of human knowledge is experience, especially perception by means of the physical senses. (Often contrasted with rationalism.)
2
A pursuit of knowledge purely through experience, especially by means of observation and sometimes by experimentation.
3
Research methodology shaped from empirical philosophy (see above), e.g. surveys, statistics, etc.
4
Medicine as practised by an empiric, founded on mere (personal or anecdotal) experience, without the aid of science or a knowledge of principles.

Etymology

From empiric + -ism.

This word in other languages

empirismo(Español)empirisme(Français)Empirismus(Deutsch)empirismo(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 "empiricism"?

"empiricism" is spelled E-M-P-I-R-I-C-I-S-M.

What does "empiricism" mean?

As a noun, "empiricism" means: A doctrine which holds that the only or, at least, the most reliable source of human knowledge is experience, especially perception by means of the physical senses. (Often contrasted with rationali...

What is the origin of the word "empiricism"?

From empiric + -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 “empiricism”

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

The one correct English spelling is E-M-P-I-R-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.