misanthropy

/mɪˈsæn.θɹə.pi/

//mɪˈsæn.θɹə.pi// noun

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

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

The verdict

“misanthropy” is uncommon English (frequency #85,525 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#85,525
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A negative view or hatred of the human race.

Corpus desk

Index EN-misanthropy · misanthropy · English

misanthropy · rank #85,525 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #85,525
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Midgley

Nearest frequency peer: Midgley (-4 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 “misanthropy”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for misanthropy
PropertyValue
Headwordmisanthropy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mɪˈsæn.θɹə.pi/
Letters11
Frequency rank#85,525
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “misanthropy” in English

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).misanthropyfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Midgley” (#85,521), “moley” (#85,532), “metrosexual” (#85,516). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “misanthropy” is #85,525. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

misanthropy is uncommon English at frequency #85,525 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /mɪˈsæn.θɹə.pi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A negative view or hatred of the human race.".

misanthropy has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek μισανθρωπία (misanthrōpía), from μισάνθρωπος (misánthrōpos), from μῖσος (mîsos, “hatred”) + ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “human”). The word is analysable as miso- + -anthropy. The correct English form is misanthropy, spelled M-I-S-A-N-T-H-R-O-P-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A negative view or hatred of the human race.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. 1817, Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Revolt of Islam, Author's Preface Hence gloom and misanthropy have become the characteristics of the age in which we live, the solace of a disappointment that unconsciously finds relief only in the wilful exaggeration of its own despair.
  2. According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μισανθρωπία (misanthrōpía), from μισάνθρωπος (misánthrōpos), from μῖσος (mîsos, “hatred”) + ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “human”). The word is analysable as miso- + -anthropy.

Synonyms

Timonism

This word in other languages

misantropía(Español)misanthropie(Français)Menschenfeindlichkeit(Deutsch)

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 "misanthropy"?
"misanthropy" is spelled M-I-S-A-N-T-H-R-O-P-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /mɪˈsæn.θɹə.pi/.
What does "misanthropy" mean?
As a noun, "misanthropy" means: A negative view or hatred of the human race.
How do you pronounce "misanthropy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "misanthropy" is /mɪˈsæn.θɹə.pi/. 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 "misanthropy"?
From Ancient Greek μισανθρωπία (misanthrōpía), from μισάνθρωπος (misánthrōpos), from μῖσος (mîsos, “hatred”) + ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “human”). The word is analysable as miso- + -anthropy. 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 "misanthropy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

metrosexual#85,516overgrazing#85,610overmatched#85,611overworking#85,612

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list