individualism
"individualism" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“individualism” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #28,955 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #28,955
- frequency rank, English
- 13
- letters
- 19
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The tendency for a person to act without reference to others, particularly in matters of style, fashion or mode of thought.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | individualism |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #28,955 |
| Misspellings tracked | 19 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “individualism” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for individualism is 13 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #28,955 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1The tendency for a person to act without reference to others, particularly in matters of style, fashion or mode of thought.
- 2The 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.
- 3The doctrine that only individual things are real.
- 4The doctrine that nothing exists but the individual self.
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.
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"?
What does "individualism" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "individualism"?
What is the origin of the word "individualism"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “individualism”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-D-I-V-I-D-U-A-L-I-S-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Don't mix it up with “individuals” - see the side-by-side comparison. individualism vs individuals
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.