ethnocentrism

/ˌɛθ.nəʊˈsɛn.tɹɪzm̩/

//ˌɛθ.nəʊˈsɛn.tɹɪzm̩// noun

"ethnocentrism" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ethnocentrism” is uncommon English (frequency #85,231 among 2,246 “E” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#85,231
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one's own traditional, deferred, or adoptive ethnic culture.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ethnocentrism · ethnocentrism · English

ethnocentrism · rank #85,231 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #85,231
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH escutcheon

Nearest frequency peer: escutcheon (-1 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 “ethnocentrism”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ethnocentrism
PropertyValue
Headwordethnocentrism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌɛθ.nəʊˈsɛn.tɹɪzm̩/
Letters13
Frequency rank#85,231
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ethnocentrism” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).ethnocentrismfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “escutcheon” (#85,230), “ergot” (#85,229), “eosinophilic” (#85,226). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “ethnocentrism” is #85,231. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ethnocentrism is uncommon English at frequency #85,231 among 2,246 “E” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌɛθ.nəʊˈsɛn.tɹɪzm̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one's own traditional, deferred, or adoptive ethnic culture.".

ethnocentrism doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. 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 ethno- + -centrism. The correct English form is ethnocentrism, spelled E-T-H-N-O-C-E-N-T-R-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one's own traditional, deferred, or adoptive ethnic culture.

Etymology

From ethno- + -centrism.

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 "ethnocentrism"?
"ethnocentrism" is spelled E-T-H-N-O-C-E-N-T-R-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɛθ.nəʊˈsɛn.tɹɪzm̩/.
What does "ethnocentrism" mean?
As a noun, "ethnocentrism" means: The tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one's own traditional, deferred, or adoptive ethnic culture.
How do you pronounce "ethnocentrism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ethnocentrism" is /ˌɛθ.nəʊˈsɛn.tɹɪzm̩/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "ethnocentrism"?
From ethno- + -centrism. 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 "ethnocentrism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list