free-thinking

adj

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

The verdict

“free-thinking” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having opinions that are contrary to dogma or the positions of authority.

Corpus desk

Index EN-free-thinking · free-thinking · English

free-thinking · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for free-thinking
PropertyValue
Headwordfree-thinking
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “free-thinking” in English

free-thinkingranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

free-thinking is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Having opinions that are contrary to dogma or the positions of authority.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for free-thinking, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is free-thinking, spelled F-R-E-E---T-H-I-N-K-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having opinions that are contrary to dogma or the positions of authority.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. His background was academic, though not directly in mathematics or physics. His father, Frank, was an expert in tropical diseases and his mother, Isobel (nee Walker), was a free-thinking radical who had a great influence on him.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "free-thinking"?
"free-thinking" is spelled F-R-E-E---T-H-I-N-K-I-N-G.
What does "free-thinking" mean?
As an adjective, "free-thinking" means: Having opinions that are contrary to dogma or the positions of authority.
What language does "free-thinking" come from?
"free-thinking" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list