pacifism
/ˈpæsɪfɪzəm/noun
pacifism is spelled P-A-C-I-F-I-S-M: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pacifism means “The conviction that it is morally wrong to settle disputes (especially between countries) by war or other violent means” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pacifism is pacifisms.
How many letters and syllables are in pacifism?
| Letters | 8: P-A-C-I-F-I-S-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 44,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is pacifism?
Pacifism appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th 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 pacifism?
- /ˈpæsɪfɪzəm/
Pacifism has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-pacifism.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pacifism
- pacifisms plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pacifism mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The conviction that it is morally wrong to settle disputes (especially between countries) by war or other violent means.
- 2
The ethical avoidance of inflicting harm on others in one's daily life.
- 3
The combination of the above two philosophical viewpoints.
- 4
The additional challenge of winning a game without harming any enemy characters.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pacifism in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pacifisme |
| German | Pazifismus |
| Portuguese | pacifismo |
| Spanish | pacifismo |
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 pacifism come from?
From French pacifisme, from pacifique; pacific + -ism.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).