ideolatry
/ˌaɪ.dɪˈɑl.ə.tɹi/
Detailed reference entry for the English word "ideolatry", 9-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "ideolatry" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "ideolatry" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
The verdict
“ideolatry” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The worship, attachment, or devotion to a concept originating and existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity.
Compare similar words
See how ideolatry compares against similar English words.
Browse all word comparisons →| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ideolatry |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌaɪ.dɪˈɑl.ə.tɹi/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ideolatry” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ideolatry is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌaɪ.dɪˈɑl.ə.tɹi/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for ideolatry in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From ideo- + -latry. Mid 19th century; used to describe religious beliefs by a Church of England Clergyman in his book, "The Origin and Development of Religious Beliefs," 1869, S. Baring Gould (1834-1924), pg 188-189. It was used again in 1913 in the Journa… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is ideolatry, spelled I-D-E-O-L-A-T-R-Y, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1The worship, attachment, or devotion to a concept originating and existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity.
- 2The worship or devotion to the thoughts and intents derived from the human mind.
- 3The worship of the human intellect.
Etymology
From ideo- + -latry. Mid 19th century; used to describe religious beliefs by a Church of England Clergyman in his book, "The Origin and Development of Religious Beliefs," 1869, S. Baring Gould (1834-1924), pg 188-189. It was used again in 1913 in the Journal of Religious Psychology, Vol 6, 1913, Page 316, which quoted from an article, "Homo faber" and "Homo religious," an article on “Le rythme du progress et la loi des deux etats,” published in the Revue de Métaphysique et de Morale, vol. 21, 1913, pp 16-60). Ideolatry was also cited in "Modern English", Hall, Fitzedward, 1873, pg 368, describing it as a "monstrous formation" of a word.
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.
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PlainSpell, “ideolatry, English word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/en/word/ideolatry
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Using “ideolatry”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-D-E-O-L-A-T-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌaɪ.dɪˈɑl.ə.tɹi/ (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
Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter I in our English index: