necromancy

/ˈnɛkɹəˌmænsi/

//ˈnɛkɹəˌmænsi// noun

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

"necromancy" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“necromancy” is uncommon English (frequency #74,344 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#74,344
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Divination involving the dead or death.

Corpus desk

Index EN-necromancy · necromancy · English

necromancy · rank #74,344 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #74,344
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH naturalness

Nearest frequency peer: naturalness (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “necromancy”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “necromancy” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for necromancy
PropertyValue
Headwordnecromancy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈnɛkɹəˌmænsi/
Letters10
Frequency rank#74,344
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “necromancy” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).necromancyfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “naturalness” (#74,343), “newish” (#74,347), “Nanyang” (#74,339). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “necromancy” is #74,344. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

necromancy is uncommon English at frequency #74,344 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈnɛkɹəˌmænsi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

necromancy has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Circa 1300, from Middle English nigromancye, from Old French nigromancie, from Medieval Latin nigromantia, from Latin necromantia, from Ancient Greek νεκρομαντεία (nekromanteía), νεκρός (nekrós, “dead”) + μαντεία (manteía, “divination”). Medieval Latin spel… The correct English form is necromancy, spelled N-E-C-R-O-M-A-N-C-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Divination involving the dead or death.
  2. 2
    Loosely, any sorcery or witchcraft, especially involving death or the dead, particularly sorcery involving raising or reanimating the dead.
  3. 3
    Synonym of necroposting.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. And for to make this treatise the more pleasaunt and facill, I have put it in forme of a Dialogue, which I have diuided into three bookes: The first speaking of Magie in general, and Necromancie in special.
  2. And in one word for all, Nagomancy, or Necromancy; by inspecting, consulting, and divining by, with, or from the dead.

Etymology

Circa 1300, from Middle English nigromancye, from Old French nigromancie, from Medieval Latin nigromantia, from Latin necromantia, from Ancient Greek νεκρομαντεία (nekromanteía), νεκρός (nekrós, “dead”) + μαντεία (manteía, “divination”). Medieval Latin spelling, incorporating niger (“black”), influenced by the notion of black art. Modern spelling adopted in mid-1500s. By surface analysis, necro- + -mancy.

This word in other languages

nigromancia(Español)nécromancie(Français)Totenbeschwörung(Deutsch)necromancia(Português)

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 "necromancy"?
"necromancy" is spelled N-E-C-R-O-M-A-N-C-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnɛkɹəˌmænsi/.
What does "necromancy" mean?
As a noun, "necromancy" means: Divination involving the dead or death.
How do you pronounce "necromancy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "necromancy" is /ˈnɛkɹəˌmænsi/. 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 "necromancy"?
Circa 1300, from Middle English nigromancye, from Old French nigromancie, from Medieval Latin nigromantia, from Latin necromantia, from Ancient Greek νεκρομαντεία (nekromanteía), νεκρός (nekrós, “dead”) + μαντεία (manteía, “divination”). Medieval ... 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 "necromancy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Michaelson#74,316Methuselah#74,313McReynolds#74,303Matsushita#74,299

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list