parasitism
/ˈpæɹəs(a)ɪˌtɪzm̩/
"parasitism" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“parasitism” is an uncommon English word, ranked #69,317 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #69,317
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Interaction between two organisms, in which one organism (the parasite) benefits and the other (the host) is harmed.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | parasitism |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpæɹəs(a)ɪˌtɪzm̩/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #69,317 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “parasitism” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for parasitism is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpæɹəs(a)ɪˌtɪzm̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #69,317 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No generated misspelling entries exist for parasitism in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From parasite + -ism. Cognate with French parasitisme and Portuguese and Spanish parasitismo. The correct English form is parasitism, spelled P-A-R-A-S-I-T-I-S-M.
Definition
- 1Interaction between two organisms, in which one organism (the parasite) benefits and the other (the host) is harmed.
- 2A similar interaction between people or things.
Etymology
From parasite + -ism. Cognate with French parasitisme and Portuguese and Spanish parasitismo.
This word in other languages
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
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Using “parasitism”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-R-A-S-I-T-I-S-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpæɹəs(a)ɪˌtɪzm̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.