parallelism

/ˈpaɹəlɛlɪz(ə)m/

//ˈpaɹəlɛlɪz(ə)m// noun

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

"parallelism" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“parallelism” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #48,403. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#48,403
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
15
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state or condition of being parallel; agreement in direction, tendency, or character.

Corpus desk

Index EN-parallelism · parallelism · English

parallelism · rank #48,403 · 15 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #48,403
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pageantry

Nearest frequency peer: pageantry (-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 “parallelism”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “parallelism” 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 parallelism
PropertyValue
Headwordparallelism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpaɹəlɛlɪz(ə)m/
Letters11
Frequency rank#48,403
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “parallelism”

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).parallelismlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “pageantry” (#48,402), “PBA” (#48,404), “peasy” (#48,405). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “parallelism” is #48,403. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around parallelism (IPA /ˈpaɹəlɛlɪz(ə)m/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #48,403 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for parallelism, with forms such as "aprallelism", "paarllelism", and "paralelism". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From parallel + -ism and from Late Latin parallelismus. The correct English form is parallelism, spelled P-A-R-A-L-L-E-L-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state or condition of being parallel; agreement in direction, tendency, or character.
  2. 2
    The state of being in agreement or similarity; resemblance, correspondence, analogy.
  3. 3
    A parallel position; the relation of parallels.
  4. 4
    The juxtaposition of two or more identical or equivalent syntactic constructions, especially those expressing the same sentiment with slight modifications, introduced for rhetorical effect.
  5. 5
    The doctrine that matter and mind do not causally interact but that physiological events in the brain or body nonetheless occur simultaneously with matching events in the mind.
  6. 6
    In antitrust law, the practice of competitors of raising prices by roughly the same amount at roughly the same time, without engaging in a formal agreement to do so.
  7. 7
    Similarity of features between two species resulting from their having taken similar evolutionary paths following their initial divergence from a common ancestor.
  8. 8
    The use of parallel methods in hardware or software, so that several tasks can be performed at the same time.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Plutarch (c. AD 46-120), in his Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans, traced a parallelism between the most eminent men of the two countries.

Etymology

From parallel + -ism and from Late Latin parallelismus.

This word in other languages

paralelismo(Español)parallélisme(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aprallelism
  • paarllelism
  • paralelism
  • paralellism
  • paralleilsm
  • parallelims
  • parallelismm
  • parallelissm
  • parallellism
  • parallelsim
  • parallleism
  • parlalelism
  • parrallelism
  • pparallelism
  • praallelism

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of parallelism - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

aprallelism2paarllelism2paralelism1paralellism2paralleilsm2parallelims2parallelismm1parallelissm1
Edit distance from "parallelism"

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 "parallelism"?
"parallelism" is spelled P-A-R-A-L-L-E-L-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpaɹəlɛlɪz(ə)m/.
What does "parallelism" mean?
As a noun, "parallelism" means: The state or condition of being parallel; agreement in direction, tendency, or character.
What are common misspellings of "parallelism"?
Common misspellings include "aprallelism", "paarllelism", "paralelism", "paralellism", "paralleilsm". The correct spelling is "parallelism".
How do you pronounce "parallelism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "parallelism" is /ˈpaɹəlɛlɪz(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 "parallelism"?
From parallel + -ism and from Late Latin parallelismus. 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 "parallelism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

orthography#48,396precipitous#48,423redirection#48,448Robespierre#48,458

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

Philistine15 variantsmockingly15 variantsridiculing15 variantsSrinivasan15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list