kleptocracy

noun

"kleptocracy" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“kleptocracy” is uncommon English (frequency #86,433 among 1,236 “K” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#86,433
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A corrupt and dishonest government or society characterised by theft and greed.

Corpus desk

Index EN-kleptocracy · kleptocracy · English

kleptocracy · rank #86,433 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #86,433
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH klaxon

Nearest frequency peer: klaxon (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “kleptocracy”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “kleptocracy” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for kleptocracy
PropertyValue
Headwordkleptocracy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Frequency rank#86,433
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “kleptocracy” in English

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).kleptocracyfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “klaxon” (#86,432), “Koirala” (#86,435), “Kipnis” (#86,430). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “kleptocracy” is #86,433. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

kleptocracy is uncommon English at frequency #86,433 among 1,236 “K” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A corrupt and dishonest government or society characterised by theft and greed.".

kleptocracy has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From klepto- + -cracy. The correct English form is kleptocracy, spelled K-L-E-P-T-O-C-R-A-C-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A corrupt and dishonest government or society characterised by theft and greed.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Quevedo, no ordinary person, is very amusing. His Visions of Hell in particular, though of a very different kind from Dante's, are more edifying. But our business at present is with his "History of Paul the Spanish Sharper, the Pattern of Rogues and Mirror of Vagabonds." We do not know that he deserves these appellations so much as some others but they ar…
  2. WikiLeaks did not cause these uprisings but it certainly informed them. The dispatches revealed details of corruption and kleptocracy that many Tunisians suspected, but could not prove, and would cite as they took to the streets.

Etymology

From klepto- + -cracy.

This word in other languages

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 "kleptocracy"?
"kleptocracy" is spelled K-L-E-P-T-O-C-R-A-C-Y.
What does "kleptocracy" mean?
As a noun, "kleptocracy" means: A corrupt and dishonest government or society characterised by theft and greed.
What is the origin of the word "kleptocracy"?
From klepto- + -cracy. 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 "kleptocracy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list