ethnocentric

adj

"ethnocentric" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ethnocentric” is uncommon English (frequency #79,497 among 2,246 “E” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#79,497
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or pertaining to ethnocentrism.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ethnocentric · ethnocentric · English

ethnocentric · rank #79,497 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #79,497
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH Epirus

Nearest frequency peer: Epirus (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “ethnocentric”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “ethnocentric” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ethnocentric
PropertyValue
Headwordethnocentric
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters12
Frequency rank#79,497
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ethnocentric” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).ethnocentricfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Epirus” (#79,495), “euphorbia” (#79,499), “evanescent” (#79,500). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “ethnocentric” is #79,497. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ethnocentric is uncommon English at frequency #79,497 among 2,246 “E” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Of or pertaining to ethnocentrism.".

ethnocentric doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From ethno- + -centric. The correct English form is ethnocentric, spelled E-T-H-N-O-C-E-N-T-R-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to ethnocentrism.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how ethnocentric appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The third ethnocentric approach [to halakhah] is extremely pragmatic. The greatest threat to the survival of the Jewish people today is assimilation and intermarriage. For thousands of years the mitzvot have protected the Jewish people from these threats and ensured Jewish continuity.

Etymology

From ethno- + -centric.

This word in other languages

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 "ethnocentric"?
"ethnocentric" is spelled E-T-H-N-O-C-E-N-T-R-I-C.
What does "ethnocentric" mean?
As an adjective, "ethnocentric" means: Of or pertaining to ethnocentrism.
What is the origin of the word "ethnocentric"?
From ethno- + -centric. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ethnocentric", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list