nationality

/ˌnæʃ.əˈnæl.ɪ.ti/

//ˌnæʃ.əˈnæl.ɪ.ti// noun

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

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

The verdict

“nationality” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,893. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,893
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Legal membership of a particular nation or state, by origin, birth, naturalization, ownership, allegiance or otherwise.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nationality · nationality · English

nationality · rank #10,893 · 16 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,893
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH murdering

Nearest frequency peer: murdering (-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 “nationality”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “nationality” 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).

nationality vs nationally
82% similar
nationality vs nationalist
82% similar
nationality vs nationalism
82% similar

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

Key facts for nationality
PropertyValue
Headwordnationality
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌnæʃ.əˈnæl.ɪ.ti/
Letters11
Frequency rank#10,893
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “nationality”

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).nationalitylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “murdering” (#10,892), “natives” (#10,894), “mouths” (#10,891). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nationality” is #10,893. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around nationality (IPA /ˌnæʃ.əˈnæl.ɪ.ti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,893 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for nationality, with forms such as "antionality", "naitonality", and "natinoality". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "nationally", "nationalist", "nationalism", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From national + -ity, perhaps after French nationalité; ultimately from Latin nātio (“nation, people”). The correct English form is nationality, spelled N-A-T-I-O-N-A-L-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Legal membership of a particular nation or state, by origin, birth, naturalization, ownership, allegiance or otherwise.
  2. 2
    A people sharing a common origin, culture and/or language, and possibly constituting a nation-state.
  3. 3
    National, i.e. ethnic and/or cultural, character or identity.
  4. 4
    Nationalism or patriotism.
  5. 5
    Political existence, independence or unity as a national entity.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. By living in the country for five years, you are entitled to get nationality.
  2. Stefi was born in Spain to a Brazilian father and a Chilean mother, so is eligible for three nationalities.

Etymology

From national + -ity, perhaps after French nationalité; ultimately from Latin nātio (“nation, people”).

Synonyms

affiliationallegianceancestrycitizenshipdescentenfranchisementethnicitynational statusnaturalizationoriginparentageraceresidencestatusclanconfederationcultural groupculturedenominationethnic groupethnicityfaithgroupnationpeoplepersuasionracesecttribeancestrycolorcolourethnicityidentityoriginnationalismpatriotic sentimentpatriotismautarchyautonomyfreedomindependencelibertynationhoodself-determinationself-governmentself-ruleseparationsovereignty

This word in other languages

nacionalidad(Español)nationalité(Français)Nationalität(Deutsch)nacionalidade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • antionality
  • naitonality
  • natinoality
  • natioanlity
  • nationailty
  • nationalitty
  • nationalityy
  • nationaliyt
  • nationallity
  • nationaltiy
  • nationlaity
  • nationnality
  • natoinality
  • nattionality
  • nnationality
  • ntaionality

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of nationality - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

antionality2naitonality2natinoality2natioanlity2nationailty2nationalitty1nationalityy1nationaliyt2
Edit distance from "nationality"

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 "nationality"?
"nationality" is spelled N-A-T-I-O-N-A-L-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌnæʃ.əˈnæl.ɪ.ti/.
What does "nationality" mean?
As a noun, "nationality" means: Legal membership of a particular nation or state, by origin, birth, naturalization, ownership, allegiance or otherwise.
What words are commonly confused with "nationality"?
"nationality" is commonly confused with "nationally", "nationalist", "nationalism". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nationality"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nationality" is /ˌnæʃ.əˈnæl.ɪ.ti/. 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 "nationality"?
From national + -ity, perhaps after French nationalité; ultimately from Latin nātio (“nation, people”). 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 "nationality", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

persecution#10,904philosopher#10,906intentional#10,874radioactive#10,916

Similar misspelling depth

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

plantation16 variantsrealization16 variantsdownstairs16 variantstemptation16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list