individualism

noun

"individualism" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“individualism” has 19 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,955. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#28,955
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
19
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The tendency for a person to act without reference to others, particularly in matters of style, fashion or mode of thought.

Corpus desk

Index EN-individualism · individualism · English

individualism · rank #28,955 · 19 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #28,955
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 19 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH indiscriminate

Nearest frequency peer: indiscriminate (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “individualism”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “individualism” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

individualism vs individuals
85% similar
individualism vs individuality
85% similar

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

Key facts for individualism
PropertyValue
Headwordindividualism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters13
Frequency rank#28,955
Misspellings tracked19
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “individualism”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).individualismlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “indiscriminate” (#28,954), “infernal” (#28,956), “ideologically” (#28,953). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “individualism” is #28,955. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 19 spelling variants around individualism, anoun. Corpus frequency is #28,955 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for individualism, with forms such as "idnividualism", "inddividualism", and "indiivdualism". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "individuals", "individuality", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French individualisme, equivalent to individual + -ism. The correct English form is individualism, spelled I-N-D-I-V-I-D-U-A-L-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The tendency for a person to act without reference to others, particularly in matters of style, fashion or mode of thought.
  2. 2
    The moral stance, political philosophy, or social outlook that promotes independence and self-reliance of individual people, while opposing the interference with each person's choices by society, the state, or any other group or institution.
  3. 3
    The doctrine that only individual things are real.
  4. 4
    The doctrine that nothing exists but the individual self.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He believes that self-improvement and its growing popularity are symptoms of what he calls individualism.
  2. [A]nd that one great and all-important occasion and provocative of these beliefs was actually the rise of self-consciousness — that is, the coming of the mind to a more or less distinct awareness of itself and of its own operation, and the consequent development and growth of Individualism, and of the Self-centred attitude in human thought and action.

Etymology

Borrowed from French individualisme, equivalent to individual + -ism.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • idnividualism
  • inddividualism
  • indiivdualism
  • indivdiualism
  • individaulism
  • individdualism
  • individuailsm
  • individualims
  • individualismm
  • individualissm
  • individuallism
  • individualsim
  • individulaism
  • indiviudalism
  • indivvidualism
  • indviidualism
  • inidvidualism
  • inndividualism
  • nidividualism

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of individualism - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

idnividualism2inddividualism1indiivdualism2indivdiualism2individaulism2individdualism1individuailsm2individualims2
Edit distance from "individualism"

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 "individualism"?
"individualism" is spelled I-N-D-I-V-I-D-U-A-L-I-S-M.
What does "individualism" mean?
As a noun, "individualism" means: The tendency for a person to act without reference to others, particularly in matters of style, fashion or mode of thought.
What words are commonly confused with "individualism"?
"individualism" is commonly confused with "individuals", "individuality". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "individualism"?
Borrowed from French individualisme, equivalent to individual + -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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "individualism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (19 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list