journalist

/ˈd͡ʒɝnəlɪst/

//ˈd͡ʒɝnəlɪst// noun

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

"journalist" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“journalist” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,764. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,764
frequency rank, English
796
“J” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The keeper of a personal journal, who writes in it regularly.

Corpus desk

Index EN-journalist · journalist · English

journalist · rank #3,764 · 15 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,764
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 796
  • PHOTO-FINISH jay

Nearest frequency peer: jay (-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 “journalist”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “journalist” 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).

journalist vs journalistic
83% similar
journalist vs journalism
90% similar

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

Key facts for journalist
PropertyValue
Headwordjournalist
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈd͡ʒɝnəlɪst/
Letters10
Frequency rank#3,764
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “journalist”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “jay” (#3,763), “kicked” (#3,765), “IV” (#3,762). Among 796 “J” headwords, “journalist” is #3,764. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around journalist (IPA /ˈd͡ʒɝnəlɪst/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,764 among 796 “J” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for journalist, with forms such as "jjournalist", "jorunalist", and "jounralist". 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, "journalistic", "journalism", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From journal + -ist. The correct English form is journalist, spelled J-O-U-R-N-A-L-I-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The keeper of a personal journal, who writes in it regularly.
  2. 2
    One whose occupation is journalism, originally only writing in the printed press.
  3. 3
    A reporter, someone who professionally reports on news and current events.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. “There’s this terrible business to start with. Scotland Yard men in and out of the house like a jack-in-the-box! Never know where they won’t turn up next. Screaming headlines in every paper in the country—damn all journalists, I say!”
  2. British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty, or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the mighty so far.

Etymology

From journal + -ist.

This word in other languages

periodista(Español)journaliste(Français)Journalist(Deutsch)jornalista(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • jjournalist
  • jorunalist
  • jounralist
  • jouranlist
  • journailst
  • journalisst
  • journalistt
  • journalits
  • journallist
  • journalsit
  • journlaist
  • journnalist
  • jourrnalist
  • juornalist
  • ojurnalist

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

jjournalist1jorunalist2jounralist2jouranlist2journailst2journalisst1journalistt1journalits2
Edit distance from "journalist"

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 "journalist"?
"journalist" is spelled J-O-U-R-N-A-L-I-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈd͡ʒɝnəlɪst/.
What does "journalist" mean?
As a noun, "journalist" means: The keeper of a personal journal, who writes in it regularly.
What words are commonly confused with "journalist"?
"journalist" is commonly confused with "journalistic", "journalism". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "journalist"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "journalist" is /ˈd͡ʒɝnəlɪst/. 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 "journalist"?
From journal + -ist. 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 "journalist", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

incredibly#3,761maintained#3,768experiment#3,751possession#3,777

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

enterprise15 variantsregulation15 variantssubsequent15 variantsexhibition15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list