onanism
/ˈoʊnəˌnɪzəm/noun
onanism is spelled O-N-A-N-I-S-M: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 40 million words in written English, the 194,306th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, onanism means “Masturbation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of onanism is onanisms.
How many letters and syllables are in onanism?
| Letters | 7: O-N-A-N-I-S-M |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 40 million words; the 194,306th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is onanism?
Onanism appears about once in every 40 million words in written English, the 194,306th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce onanism?
- UK /ˈəʊnəˌnɪzəm/
- US /ˈoʊnəˌnɪzəm/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-onanism.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with onanism?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as onanism (/oʊnənɪzəm/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: mansion.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of onanism
- onanisms plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does onanism mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
datedMasturbation.
- 2
datedEjaculating outside the vagina during intercourse; (the performing of) coitus interruptus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Onanism in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense masturbation:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does onanism come from?
From Onan + -ism. In the Book of Genesis, Onan, son of Judah, in fulfillment of the laws of levirate marriage was to impregnate his brother Er's widow, Tamar, in order to raise offspring from the union in his brother's name. In order to avoid raising descendants for his late brother, however, Onan "spilled his semen on the ground when he went in to his brother's wife, so that he would not give offspring to his brother" (Genesis 38:9).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).