nation-state
"nation-state" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“nation-state” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A political entity (a state) associated with a common national identity (historically, culturally, or ethnically; as with a nation) and a sovereign territorial unit.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | nation-state |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “nation-state” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for nation-state is 12 letters long, classified as a noun. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No generated misspelling entries exist for nation-state in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Compound of nation + state. Coined c. 1890s under the influence of European languages; compare German Nationalstaat (from 1840s), Italian Stato-nazione (from 1860s). The correct English form is nation-state, spelled N-A-T-I-O-N---S-T-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1A political entity (a state) associated with a common national identity (historically, culturally, or ethnically; as with a nation) and a sovereign territorial unit.
- 2Any independent political state; a country.
Etymology
Compound of nation + state. Coined c. 1890s under the influence of European languages; compare German Nationalstaat (from 1840s), Italian Stato-nazione (from 1860s).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "nation-state"?
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Using “nation-state”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-A-T-I-O-N---S-T-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- 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.