monotheism

Name: monotheism, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˌmɑnoʊ̯ˈθiɪzm̩/

//ˌmɑnoʊ̯ˈθiɪzm̩// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“monotheism” is uncommon English (frequency #53,111 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,111
frequency rank, English: 36,575
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Belief in the One True God, defined by More as personal, immaterial and trinitarian.

Key facts for monotheism
Property	Value
Headword	monotheism
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˌmɑnoʊ̯ˈθiɪzm̩/
Letters	10
Frequency rank	#53,111
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “monotheism” 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). monotheism lands here:

#53,111

#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

monotheism is uncommon English at frequency #53,111 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌmɑnoʊ̯ˈθiɪzm̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for monotheism, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: A learned 17th-century coinage, mono- + theism, from (μονός (monós, “one”)) and (θεός (theós, “god, deity”) + -ισμός (-ismós)) The term parallels the earlier polytheism, atheism (the simplex theism being slightly later). The term was coined by Henry More, c… The correct English form is monotheism, spelled M-O-N-O-T-H-E-I-S-M.

Definition

1
Belief in the One True God, defined by More as personal, immaterial and trinitarian.
2
The belief in a single deity (one god or goddess); especially within an organized religion.
3
The belief that God is one person (Judaism, Unitarian Christianity, Islam), not three persons (Trinitarian Christianity, Hinduism)

Etymology

A learned 17th-century coinage, mono- + theism, from (μονός (monós, “one”)) and (θεός (theós, “god, deity”) + -ισμός (-ismós)) The term parallels the earlier polytheism, atheism (the simplex theism being slightly later). The term was coined by Henry More, ca. 1660, in explicit juxtaposition with both atheism and polytheism. It was redefined through etymological fallacy by Daniel Webster ca. 1828.

This word in other languages

monoteísmo(Español)monothéisme(Français)Monotheismus(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 "monotheism"?

"monotheism" is spelled M-O-N-O-T-H-E-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌmɑnoʊ̯ˈθiɪzm̩/.

What does "monotheism" mean?

As a noun, "monotheism" means: Belief in the One True God, defined by More as personal, immaterial and trinitarian.

How do you pronounce "monotheism"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "monotheism" is /ˌmɑnoʊ̯ˈθiɪzm̩/. 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 "monotheism"?

A learned 17th-century coinage, mono- + theism, from (μονός (monós, “one”)) and (θεός (theós, “god, deity”) + -ισμός (-ismós)) The term parallels the earlier polytheism, atheism (the simplex theism being slightly later). The term was coined by Hen... 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 “monotheism”

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

The one correct English spelling is M-O-N-O-T-H-E-I-S-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˌmɑnoʊ̯ˈθiɪzm̩/ (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.