intelligentsia

/ɪntɛlɪˈd͡ʒɛntsɪə/

//ɪntɛlɪˈd͡ʒɛntsɪə// noun

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

"intelligentsia" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“intelligentsia” has 19 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #41,695. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#41,695
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
19
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The intellectual elite of a society, particularly in Marxist doctrine.

Corpus desk

Index EN-intelligentsia · intelligentsia · English

intelligentsia · rank #41,695 · 19 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #41,695
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 19 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH interagency

Nearest frequency peer: interagency (+2 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 “intelligentsia”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “intelligentsia” 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
Key facts for intelligentsia
PropertyValue
Headwordintelligentsia
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪntɛlɪˈd͡ʒɛntsɪə/
Letters14
Frequency rank#41,695
Misspellings tracked19
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “intelligentsia”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).intelligentsialands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “interagency” (#41,697), “inshore” (#41,692), “interconnect” (#41,698). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “intelligentsia” is #41,695. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 19 spelling variants around intelligentsia (IPA /ɪntɛlɪˈd͡ʒɛntsɪə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #41,695 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The intellectual elite of a society, particularly in Marxist doctrine.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for intelligentsia, with forms such as "inetlligentsia", "inntelligentsia", and "inteligentsia". 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. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Russian интеллиге́нция (intelligéncija) or Polish inteligencja, from Latin intellegentia (“intelligence”). Doublet of intelligence. The correct English form is intelligentsia, spelled I-N-T-E-L-L-I-G-E-N-T-S-I-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    The intellectual elite of a society, particularly in Marxist doctrine.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […] среди рабочих растет страстное стремление к знанию и к социализму, среди рабочих выделяются настоящие герои, которые — несмотря на безобразную обстановку своей жизни, несмотря на отупляющую каторжную работу на фабрике, — находят в себе столько характера и силы воли, чтобы учиться, учиться и учиться и вырабатывать из себя сознательных социалдемократов,…
  2. It should be noted that there is now no intelligentsia that is not in some sense "Left". Perhaps the last right-wing intellectual was T. E. Lawrence. Since about 1930 everyone describable as an “intellectual” has lived in a state of chronic discontent with the existing order.

Etymology

From Russian интеллиге́нция (intelligéncija) or Polish inteligencja, from Latin intellegentia (“intelligence”). Doublet of intelligence.

This word in other languages

inteligencia(Español)intelligentsia(Français)Intelligenz(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • inetlligentsia
  • inntelligentsia
  • inteligentsia
  • intelilgentsia
  • intellgientsia
  • intelliegntsia
  • intelligenntsia
  • intelligenstia
  • intelligentisa
  • intelligentsai
  • intelligentssia
  • intelligenttsia
  • intelligetnsia
  • intelliggentsia
  • intellignetsia
  • intleligentsia
  • inttelligentsia
  • itnelligentsia
  • nitelligentsia

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

inetlligentsia2inntelligentsia1inteligentsia1intelilgentsia2intellgientsia2intelliegntsia2intelligenntsia1intelligenstia2
Edit distance from "intelligentsia"

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 "intelligentsia"?
"intelligentsia" is spelled I-N-T-E-L-L-I-G-E-N-T-S-I-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪntɛlɪˈd͡ʒɛntsɪə/.
What does "intelligentsia" mean?
As a noun, "intelligentsia" means: The intellectual elite of a society, particularly in Marxist doctrine.
What are common misspellings of "intelligentsia"?
Common misspellings include "inetlligentsia", "inntelligentsia", "inteligentsia", "intelilgentsia", "intellgientsia". The correct spelling is "intelligentsia".
How do you pronounce "intelligentsia"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "intelligentsia" is /ɪntɛlɪˈd͡ʒɛntsɪə/. 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 "intelligentsia"?
From Russian интеллиге́нция (intelligéncija) or Polish inteligencja, from Latin intellegentia (“intelligence”). Doublet of intelligence. 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 "intelligentsia", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 14 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

neuroscientist#41,780reintroduction#41,344centralization#42,055overpopulation#41,293

Similar misspelling depth

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

reproducible19 variantsunambiguously19 variantsacetaminophen19 variantscontributory19 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list