groupthink
/ˈɡɹuːpθɪŋk/
"groupthink" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“groupthink” is uncommon English (frequency #64,414 among 18,276 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #64,414
- frequency rank, English
- 18,276
- “G” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A process of reasoning or decision-making by a group, especially one characterized by uncritical acceptance of or conformity to a perceived majority view.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | groupthink |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɡɹuːpθɪŋk/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #64,414 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “groupthink” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
groupthink is uncommon English at frequency #64,414 among 18,276 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɡɹuːpθɪŋk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A process of reasoning or decision-making by a group, especially one characterized by uncritical acceptance of or conformity to a perceived majority view.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for groupthink, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Coined by William H. Whyte in 1952, from group + think, modelled on earlier doublethink from Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. The correct English form is groupthink, spelled G-R-O-U-P-T-H-I-N-K.
Definition
- 1A process of reasoning or decision-making by a group, especially one characterized by uncritical acceptance of or conformity to a perceived majority view.
Etymology
Coined by William H. Whyte in 1952, from group + think, modelled on earlier doublethink from Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.
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.
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Using “groupthink”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-R-O-U-P-T-H-I-N-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɡɹuːpθɪŋk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.