modernism
"modernism" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“modernism” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #24,523 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #24,523
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Modern or contemporary ideas, thought, practices, etc.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | modernism |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #24,523 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “modernism” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for modernism is 9 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #24,523 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for modernism, with forms such as "mdoernism", "mmodernism", and "moddernism". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "modernity", "modernist", "modernize", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From modern + -ism. The correct English form is modernism, spelled M-O-D-E-R-N-I-S-M.
Definition
- 1Modern or contemporary ideas, thought, practices, etc.
- 2Anything that is characteristic of modernity.
- 3Any of several styles of art, architecture, literature, philosophy, etc., that flourished in the 20th century.
- 4A religious movement in the early 20th century, condemned as heretical by Pope Pius X, which tried to reconcile Roman Catholic dogma with modern science and philosophy.
Etymology
From modern + -ism.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: mdoernism,mmodernism,moddernism,modenrism,moderinsm,modernims,modernismm,modernissm,modernnism,modernsim,moderrnism,modrenism,moedrnism,omdernism
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of modernism - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "modernism"?
What does "modernism" mean?
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Using “modernism”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-O-D-E-R-N-I-S-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Don't mix it up with “modernity” - see the side-by-side comparison. modernism vs modernity
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.