irrationalism

noun

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

The verdict

“irrationalism” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A philosophical movement formed as a cultural reaction against positivism in the early 20th century.

Corpus desk

Index EN-irrationalism · irrationalism · English

irrationalism · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "I" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for irrationalism
PropertyValue
Headwordirrationalism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “irrationalism” in English

irrationalismranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

irrationalism is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A philosophical movement formed as a cultural reaction against positivism in the early 20th century.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for irrationalism, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From irrational + -ism. The correct English form is irrationalism, spelled I-R-R-A-T-I-O-N-A-L-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A philosophical movement formed as a cultural reaction against positivism in the early 20th century.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Finally, with good reason, this psychology aims to be a psychology of a purely empiriological type. It is pervaded and overwhelmed on every side, however, by a pseudometaphysics of the most vulgar character, which Freud is all the less anxious to dispense iwth as he imagines he has no philosophy or metaphysics at all. I say pseudometaphysics of the most v…

Etymology

From irrational + -ism.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "irrationalism"?
"irrationalism" is spelled I-R-R-A-T-I-O-N-A-L-I-S-M.
What does "irrationalism" mean?
As a noun, "irrationalism" means: A philosophical movement formed as a cultural reaction against positivism in the early 20th century.
What is the origin of the word "irrationalism"?
From irrational + -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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list