extremism

/ɪkˈstɹiː.mɪ.zəm/

//ɪkˈstɹiː.mɪ.zəm// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"extremism" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“extremism” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,330. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,330
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Extreme ideas or actions, primarily in politics or religion.

Corpus desk

Index EN-extremism · extremism · English

extremism · rank #19,330 · 14 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,330
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH explanatory

Nearest frequency peer: explanatory (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “extremism”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “extremism” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

extremism vs extremist
89% similar
extremism vs extremity
78% similar
extremism vs extremes
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for extremism
PropertyValue
Headwordextremism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪkˈstɹiː.mɪ.zəm/
Letters9
Frequency rank#19,330
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “extremism”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).extremismlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “explanatory” (#19,329), “Fairfield” (#19,331), “fairies” (#19,332). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “extremism” is #19,330. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around extremism (IPA /ɪkˈstɹiː.mɪ.zəm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,330 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Extreme ideas or actions, primarily in politics or religion.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for extremism, with forms such as "etxremism", "exrtemism", and "extermism". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "extremist", "extremity", "extremes", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From extreme + -ism. The correct English form is extremism, spelled E-X-T-R-E-M-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Extreme ideas or actions, primarily in politics or religion.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. For a student of American history and a foreigner like myself, it is easier to understand all these extremisms of conscience.
  2. Echoing the views of my colleagues from the region and beyond, I told the Security Council on Feb. 18, 2003, that while the ramifications of the war could go beyond anyone’s calculations, “one outcome is almost certain: extremism stands to benefit enormously from an uncalculated adventure in Iraq.”

Etymology

From extreme + -ism.

This word in other languages

extremismo(Español)extrémisme(Français)Extremismus(Deutsch)extremismo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • etxremism
  • exrtemism
  • extermism
  • extreimsm
  • extremims
  • extremismm
  • extremissm
  • extremmism
  • extremsim
  • extrmeism
  • extrremism
  • exttremism
  • exxtremism
  • xetremism

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of extremism - 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.

etxremism2exrtemism2extermism2extreimsm2extremims2extremismm1extremissm1extremmism1
Edit distance from "extremism"

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 "extremism"?
"extremism" is spelled E-X-T-R-E-M-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪkˈstɹiː.mɪ.zəm/.
What does "extremism" mean?
As a noun, "extremism" means: Extreme ideas or actions, primarily in politics or religion.
What words are commonly confused with "extremism"?
"extremism" is commonly confused with "extremist", "extremity", "extremes". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "extremism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "extremism" is /ɪkˈstɹiː.mɪ.zəm/. 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 "extremism"?
From extreme + -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 "extremism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Fairfield#19,331engraving#19,326Francesca#19,342Francesco#19,343

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

formatting14 variantsdigestion14 variantsillustrious14 variantsintimidate14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list