iconoclast
/aɪˈkɒn.əˌklæst/
"iconoclast" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“iconoclast” is uncommon English (frequency #79,615 among 17,902 “I” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #79,615
- frequency rank, English
- 17,902
- “I” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One who destroys religious images or icons, especially an opponent of the Orthodox Church in the 8th and 9th centuries, or a Puritan during the European Reformation.
Corpus desk
Index EN-iconoclast · iconoclast · English
iconoclast · rank #79,615 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #79,615
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 17,902
- PHOTO-FINISH idolatrous
Nearest frequency peer: idolatrous (+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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “iconoclast”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- hypervisor
hypervisor
20,391 corpus weight
- hythe
hythe
20,389 corpus weight
- iconoclast
iconoclast
20,386 corpus weight
- idolatrous
idolatrous
20,385 corpus weight
- illicitly
illicitly
20,382 corpus weight
- impaler
impaler
20,381 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “iconoclast” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | iconoclast |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /aɪˈkɒn.əˌklæst/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #79,615 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “iconoclast” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
iconoclast is uncommon English at frequency #79,615 among 17,902 “I” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /aɪˈkɒn.əˌklæst/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
iconoclast doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French iconoclaste and its etymon Medieval Latin īconoclastēs, from Byzantine Greek εἰκονοκλάστης (eikonoklástēs, literally “image breaker”). By surface analysis, icono- + -clast. The correct English form is iconoclast, spelled I-C-O-N-O-C-L-A-S-T.
Definition
- 1One who destroys religious images or icons, especially an opponent of the Orthodox Church in the 8th and 9th centuries, or a Puritan during the European Reformation.
- 2One who opposes orthodoxy and religion; one who adheres to the doctrine of iconoclasm.
- 3One who attacks cherished beliefs; a maverick.
Etymology
Borrowed from French iconoclaste and its etymon Medieval Latin īconoclastēs, from Byzantine Greek εἰκονοκλάστης (eikonoklástēs, literally “image breaker”). By surface analysis, icono- + -clast.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "iconoclast", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency 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.