nationalism

/ˈnæʃənəlɪz(ə)m/

//ˈnæʃənəlɪz(ə)m// noun

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

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

The verdict

“nationalism” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,213. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,213
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A more extreme form of patriotism; the idea of a more extreme support for one's country, people or culture.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nationalism · nationalism · English

nationalism · rank #9,213 · 16 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,213
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH missionary

Nearest frequency peer: missionary (-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 “nationalism”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “nationalism” 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).

nationalism vs nationals
82% similar
nationalism vs nationalist
91% similar
nationalism vs nationality
82% similar

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

Key facts for nationalism
PropertyValue
Headwordnationalism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈnæʃənəlɪz(ə)m/
Letters11
Frequency rank#9,213
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “nationalism”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).nationalismlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “missionary” (#9,212), “naughty” (#9,214), “mick” (#9,211). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nationalism” is #9,213. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around nationalism (IPA /ˈnæʃənəlɪz(ə)m/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,213 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for nationalism, with forms such as "antionalism", "naitonalism", and "natinoalism". 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, "nationals", "nationalist", "nationality", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French nationalisme, equivalent to national + -ism. The correct English form is nationalism, spelled N-A-T-I-O-N-A-L-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A more extreme form of patriotism; the idea of a more extreme support for one's country, people or culture.
  2. 2
    Support for the creation of a sovereign nation (which does not currently exist).
  3. 3
    Support for the union of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Communists, socialists, and Islamists are against nationalism.
  2. Perhaps the explanation of the Chinese situation most generally accepted by historians is nationalism, a phenomenon which has always occurred when a people of distinctive cultural characteristics becomes aware of foreign domination. Napoleonic domination in Italy and Germany a century ago created nationalism there, as did Turkish domination in the Balkans…

Etymology

Borrowed from French nationalisme, equivalent to national + -ism.

Antonyms

internationalismantinationalismcosmopolitanismunionism

This word in other languages

nacionalismo(Español)nationalisme(Français)Nationalismus(Deutsch)nacionalismo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • antionalism
  • naitonalism
  • natinoalism
  • natioanlism
  • nationailsm
  • nationalims
  • nationalismm
  • nationalissm
  • nationallism
  • nationalsim
  • nationlaism
  • nationnalism
  • natoinalism
  • nattionalism
  • nnationalism
  • ntaionalism

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

antionalism2naitonalism2natinoalism2natioanlism2nationailsm2nationalims2nationalismm1nationalissm1
Edit distance from "nationalism"

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 "nationalism"?
"nationalism" is spelled N-A-T-I-O-N-A-L-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnæʃənəlɪz(ə)m/.
What does "nationalism" mean?
As a noun, "nationalism" means: A more extreme form of patriotism; the idea of a more extreme support for one's country, people or culture.
What words are commonly confused with "nationalism"?
"nationalism" is commonly confused with "nationals", "nationalist", "nationality". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nationalism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nationalism" is /ˈnæʃənəlɪz(ə)m/. 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 "nationalism"?
Borrowed from French nationalisme, equivalent to national + -ism. 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 "nationalism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

commissions#9,303compression#9,304definitions#9,317discovering#9,320

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

refreshing16 variantseconomically16 variantsdifferential16 variantsstrengths16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list