exhibitionism

noun

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

The verdict

“exhibitionism” is uncommon English (frequency #67,425 among 2,246 “E” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,425
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The practice or character trait of deliberately drawing attention to oneself.

Corpus desk

Index EN-exhibitionism · exhibitionism · English

exhibitionism · rank #67,425 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,425
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH eyeballing

Nearest frequency peer: eyeballing (+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 “exhibitionism”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for exhibitionism
PropertyValue
Headwordexhibitionism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters13
Frequency rank#67,425
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “exhibitionism” 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).exhibitionismfalls 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: “eyeballing” (#67,427), “EVEL” (#67,422), “fabricator” (#67,429). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “exhibitionism” is #67,425. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

exhibitionism is uncommon English at frequency #67,425 among 2,246 “E” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for exhibitionism, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From exhibition + -ism. The correct English form is exhibitionism, spelled E-X-H-I-B-I-T-I-O-N-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The practice or character trait of deliberately drawing attention to oneself.
  2. 2
    The practice or character trait of deliberately displaying one's genitals, nipples, or buttocks in public for sexual gratification.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The dance consisted of sexual exhibitionism, reeling and swaying as if in a state of intoxication, erotic bodily movements, and denudation.
  2. Yes, really. Blanchard has expanded the DSM's "paraphilia" section (where crimes such as paedophilia and exhibitionism go) to include transvestic disorder.

Etymology

From exhibition + -ism.

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 "exhibitionism"?
"exhibitionism" is spelled E-X-H-I-B-I-T-I-O-N-I-S-M.
What does "exhibitionism" mean?
As a noun, "exhibitionism" means: The practice or character trait of deliberately drawing attention to oneself.
What is the origin of the word "exhibitionism"?
From exhibition + -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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "exhibitionism", 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