imperialism

/ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.ə.lɪ.z(ə)m/

//ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.ə.lɪ.z(ə)m// noun

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

"imperialism" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“imperialism” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,637. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,637
frequency rank, English
17,902
“I” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The policy of forcefully extending a nation's authority by territorial gain or by the establishment of economic and political dominance over other nations.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

imperialism vs imperialist
91% similar

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

Key facts for imperialism
PropertyValue
Headwordimperialism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.ə.lɪ.z(ə)m/
Letters11
Frequency rank#17,637
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “imperialism” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). imperialism lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around imperialism (IPA /ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.ə.lɪ.z(ə)m/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,637 among 17,902 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for imperialism, with forms such as "imeprialism", "immperialism", and "impeiralism". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "imperialist", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From imperial + -ism. The correct English form is imperialism, spelled I-M-P-E-R-I-A-L-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The policy of forcefully extending a nation's authority by territorial gain or by the establishment of economic and political dominance over other nations.
  2. 2
    Any undue extension of political, intellectual, or other forms of authority, particularly in regards to systems that benefit the Western world at the cost of the Global South.

Etymology

From imperial + -ism.

This word in other languages

imperialismo(Español)impérialisme(Français)Imperialismus(Deutsch)imperialismo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: imeprialism,immperialism,impeiralism,imperailism,imperiailsm,imperialims,imperialismm,imperialissm,imperiallism,imperialsim,imperilaism,imperrialism,impperialism,impreialism,ipmerialism,miperialism

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

imeprialism2immperialism1impeiralism2imperailism2imperiailsm2imperialims2imperialismm1imperialissm1
Edit distance from "imperialism"

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 "imperialism"?
"imperialism" is spelled I-M-P-E-R-I-A-L-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.ə.lɪ.z(ə)m/.
What does "imperialism" mean?
As a noun, "imperialism" means: The policy of forcefully extending a nation's authority by territorial gain or by the establishment of economic and political dominance over other nations.
What words are commonly confused with "imperialism"?
"imperialism" is commonly confused with "imperialist". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "imperialism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "imperialism" is /ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.ə.lɪ.z(ə)m/. 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 "imperialism"?
From imperial + -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.

Using “imperialism”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is I-M-P-E-R-I-A-L-I-S-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.ə.lɪ.z(ə)m/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “imperialist” - see the side-by-side comparison. imperialism vs imperialist
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list