lesbianism

/ˈlɛzbiəˌnɪzəm/

//ˈlɛzbiəˌnɪzəm// noun

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

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

The verdict

“lesbianism” is uncommon English (frequency #56,242 among 16,425 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#56,242
frequency rank, English
16,425
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Female homosexuality; the state of a woman being sexually attracted to other women.

Key facts for lesbianism
PropertyValue
Headwordlesbianism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈlɛzbiəˌnɪzəm/
Letters10
Frequency rank#56,242
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “lesbianism” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

lesbianism is uncommon English at frequency #56,242 among 16,425 “L” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈlɛzbiəˌnɪzəm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Female homosexuality; the state of a woman being sexually attracted to other women.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for lesbianism, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From lesbian + -ism. The correct English form is lesbianism, spelled L-E-S-B-I-A-N-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Female homosexuality; the state of a woman being sexually attracted to other women.

Etymology

From lesbian + -ism.

Synonyms

lesbiandomlesbianhoodlesbianness

This word in other languages

lesbianisme(Français)lesbianismo(Português)

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 "lesbianism"?
"lesbianism" is spelled L-E-S-B-I-A-N-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɛzbiəˌnɪzəm/.
What does "lesbianism" mean?
As a noun, "lesbianism" means: Female homosexuality; the state of a woman being sexually attracted to other women.
How do you pronounce "lesbianism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lesbianism" is /ˈlɛzbiəˌnɪzəm/. 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 "lesbianism"?
From lesbian + -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.

Using “lesbianism”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is L-E-S-B-I-A-N-I-S-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈlɛzbiəˌnɪzəm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list