ostracism

/ˈɒstɹəsɪz(ə)m/

//ˈɒstɹəsɪz(ə)m// noun

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

"ostracism" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ostracism” is uncommon English (frequency #63,861 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,861
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In ancient Athens (and some other cities), the temporary banishment by popular vote of a citizen considered dangerous to the state.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ostracism · ostracism · English

ostracism · rank #63,861 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #63,861
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH Ouachita

Nearest frequency peer: Ouachita (+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 “ostracism”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ostracism
PropertyValue
Headwordostracism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɒstɹəsɪz(ə)m/
Letters9
Frequency rank#63,861
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ostracism” in English

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).ostracismfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Ouachita” (#63,862), “Ophir” (#63,859), “operatively” (#63,858). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “ostracism” is #63,861. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ostracism is uncommon English at frequency #63,861 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɒstɹəsɪz(ə)m/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for ostracism in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ὀστρακισμός (ostrakismós, “banishment by means of voting with pot shards”), from ὀστρακίζω (ostrakízō, “ostracize”) + -ισμός (-ismós, “-ism”), from ὄστρακον (óstrakon, “clay pot”). The correct English form is ostracism, spelled O-S-T-R-A-C-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    In ancient Athens (and some other cities), the temporary banishment by popular vote of a citizen considered dangerous to the state.
  2. 2
    Banishment by some general consent.
  3. 3
    Temporary exclusion from a community or society.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. For this manner of banishment for a time, called ostracismos, was no punishment for any fault committed, but a mitigation and taking away of the envy of the people, which delighted to pluck down their stomacks that too much seemed to exceed in greatness: […]
  2. Take the ſweete herbe called pleaſant content; with that make a perfume about your bed chamber and where you dyne: the ſavour of this is as ſure a repulſe to exile melancholie, as the oſtracisme was to the noble of Athens.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ὀστρακισμός (ostrakismós, “banishment by means of voting with pot shards”), from ὀστρακίζω (ostrakízō, “ostracize”) + -ισμός (-ismós, “-ism”), from ὄστρακον (óstrakon, “clay pot”).

This word in other languages

ostracismo(Español)ostracisme(Français)Scherbengericht(Deutsch)ostracismo(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 "ostracism"?
"ostracism" is spelled O-S-T-R-A-C-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɒstɹəsɪz(ə)m/.
What does "ostracism" mean?
As a noun, "ostracism" means: In ancient Athens (and some other cities), the temporary banishment by popular vote of a citizen considered dangerous to the state.
How do you pronounce "ostracism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ostracism" is /ˈɒstɹəsɪz(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 "ostracism"?
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ὀστρακισμός (ostrakismós, “banishment by means of voting with pot shards”), from ὀστρακίζω (ostrakízō, “ostracize”) + -ισμός (-ismós, “-ism”), from ὄστρακον (óstrakon, “clay pot”). 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 "ostracism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pennywise#63,881neodymium#63,833Nasrallah#63,831pitifully#63,893

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list