nepotism

/ˈnɛp.ə.tɪ.zəm/

//ˈnɛp.ə.tɪ.zəm// noun

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

"nepotism" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nepotism” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #31,674. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,674
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The favoring of relatives (most strictly) or also personal friends (more broadly) because of their relationship rather than because of their abilities.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nepotism · nepotism · English

nepotism · rank #31,674 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #31,674
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH naturalistic

Nearest frequency peer: naturalistic (-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 “nepotism”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “nepotism” 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
Key facts for nepotism
PropertyValue
Headwordnepotism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈnɛp.ə.tɪ.zəm/
Letters8
Frequency rank#31,674
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “nepotism”

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).nepotismlands 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 “naturalistic” (#31,673), “NGL” (#31,675), “Narnia” (#31,672). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nepotism” is #31,674. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around nepotism (IPA /ˈnɛp.ə.tɪ.zəm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #31,674 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The favoring of relatives (most strictly) or also personal friends (more broadly) because of their relationship rather than because of their abilities.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for nepotism, with forms such as "enpotism", "neoptism", and "nepoitsm". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French népotisme, from Italian nepotismo, from Latin nepōs (“nephew”), a reference to the practice of popes appointing relatives (most often nephews) as cardinals during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The correct English form is nepotism, spelled N-E-P-O-T-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The favoring of relatives (most strictly) or also personal friends (more broadly) because of their relationship rather than because of their abilities.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Nepotism can get you very far in the world if you've got the right connections.
  2. Now retailers even demand deslotting or failure fees, a penalty for trial products that fail to meet their sales objectives. The struggle over display space heavily favors the incumbents and encourages what might be called brand nepotism.

Etymology

Borrowed from French népotisme, from Italian nepotismo, from Latin nepōs (“nephew”), a reference to the practice of popes appointing relatives (most often nephews) as cardinals during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Antonyms

meritocracy

This word in other languages

nepotismo(Español)népotisme(Français)Nepotismus(Deutsch)nepotismo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • enpotism
  • neoptism
  • nepoitsm
  • nepotims
  • nepotismm
  • nepotissm
  • nepotsim
  • nepottism
  • neppotism
  • neptoism
  • nnepotism
  • npeotism

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

enpotism2neoptism2nepoitsm2nepotims2nepotismm1nepotissm1nepotsim2nepottism1
Edit distance from "nepotism"

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 "nepotism"?
"nepotism" is spelled N-E-P-O-T-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnɛp.ə.tɪ.zəm/.
What does "nepotism" mean?
As a noun, "nepotism" means: The favoring of relatives (most strictly) or also personal friends (more broadly) because of their relationship rather than because of their abilities.
What are common misspellings of "nepotism"?
Common misspellings include "enpotism", "neoptism", "nepoitsm", "nepotims", "nepotismm". The correct spelling is "nepotism".
How do you pronounce "nepotism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nepotism" is /ˈnɛp.ə.tɪ.zəm/. 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 "nepotism"?
Borrowed from French népotisme, from Italian nepotismo, from Latin nepōs (“nephew”), a reference to the practice of popes appointing relatives (most often nephews) as cardinals during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. 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 "nepotism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

operatic#31,680overseer#31,687paddling#31,689Macaulay#31,642

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

kinetics12 variantsirradiated12 variantsRosalind12 variantssardines12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list