minority

/maɪˈnɒɹ.ɪ.ti/

//maɪˈnɒɹ.ɪ.ti// noun

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

"minority" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“minority” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,572. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,572
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state or condition of being smaller, inferior, or subordinate to something or someone else; lesserness.

Corpus desk

Index EN-minority · minority · English

minority · rank #3,572 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,572
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Mexican

Nearest frequency peer: Mexican (-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 “minority”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “minority” 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).

minority vs majority
75% similar

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

Key facts for minority
PropertyValue
Headwordminority
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/maɪˈnɒɹ.ɪ.ti/
Letters8
Frequency rank#3,572
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “minority”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).minoritylands 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 “Mexican” (#3,571), “mum” (#3,573), “memorial” (#3,570). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “minority” is #3,572. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around minority (IPA /maɪˈnɒɹ.ɪ.ti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,572 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for minority, with forms such as "imnority", "minnority", and "minoirty". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "majority", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Middle English minoritie, from Middle French minorité, and its source Late Latin minōritās, from Latin minor. Morphologically minor + -ity. The correct English form is minority, spelled M-I-N-O-R-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state or condition of being smaller, inferior, or subordinate to something or someone else; lesserness.
  2. 2
    The state of being a minor; youth, the period of a person's life prior to reaching adulthood.
  3. 3
    Any subgroup that does not form a numerical majority.
  4. 4
    A member of an ethnic minority.
  5. 5
    A group of people seen as distinct who are subordinated and discriminated against in a society.
  6. 6
    A Muslim.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. And lest any man should think her intent was to unnestle ill neighbours, and not to aid good neighbours, or that she was readier to restore what was invaded by others than to render what was in her own hands; see if the time provided not a new occasion afterwards, when through their own division, without the intermise of strangers, her forces were again s…
  2. She also played a key role as dowager-regent during the minority of her son.

Etymology

From Late Middle English minoritie, from Middle French minorité, and its source Late Latin minōritās, from Latin minor. Morphologically minor + -ity.

This word in other languages

minoría(Español)minorité(Français)Minderheit(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imnority
  • minnority
  • minoirty
  • minoritty
  • minorityy
  • minoriyt
  • minorrity
  • minortiy
  • minroity
  • mionrity
  • mminority
  • mniority

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

imnority2minnority1minoirty2minoritty1minorityy1minoriyt2minorrity1minortiy2
Edit distance from "minority"

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 "minority"?
"minority" is spelled M-I-N-O-R-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /maɪˈnɒɹ.ɪ.ti/.
What does "minority" mean?
As a noun, "minority" means: The state or condition of being smaller, inferior, or subordinate to something or someone else; lesserness.
What words are commonly confused with "minority"?
"minority" is commonly confused with "majority". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "minority"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "minority" is /maɪˈnɒɹ.ɪ.ti/. 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 "minority"?
From Late Middle English minoritie, from Middle French minorité, and its source Late Latin minōritās, from Latin minor. Morphologically minor + -ity. 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 "minority", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

memorial#3,570opinions#3,574presents#3,576priority#3,577

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

dramatic12 variantsAlexander12 variantscrystal12 variantsforgotten12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list