parochialism

/pəˈɹəʊkɪəlɪzm̩/

//pəˈɹəʊkɪəlɪzm̩// noun

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

"parochialism" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“parochialism” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The quality or state of being parochial; especially: selfish pettiness or narrowness (as of interests, opinions, or views).

Key facts for parochialism
PropertyValue
Headwordparochialism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pəˈɹəʊkɪəlɪzm̩/
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “parochialism” sits in English frequency

parochialism falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

parochialism is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /pəˈɹəʊkɪəlɪzm̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The quality or state of being parochial; especially: selfish pettiness or narrowness (as of interests, opinions, or views).".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for parochialism, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From parochial + -ism. The correct English form is parochialism, spelled P-A-R-O-C-H-I-A-L-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The quality or state of being parochial; especially: selfish pettiness or narrowness (as of interests, opinions, or views).

Etymology

From parochial + -ism.

This word in other languages

esprit de clocher(Français)Provinzialismus(Deutsch)provincianismo(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "parochialism"?
"parochialism" is spelled P-A-R-O-C-H-I-A-L-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈɹəʊkɪəlɪzm̩/.
What does "parochialism" mean?
As a noun, "parochialism" means: The quality or state of being parochial; especially: selfish pettiness or narrowness (as of interests, opinions, or views).
How do you pronounce "parochialism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "parochialism" is /pəˈɹəʊkɪəlɪzm̩/. 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 "parochialism"?
From parochial + -ism. 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.

Using “parochialism”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-A-R-O-C-H-I-A-L-I-S-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /pəˈɹəʊkɪəlɪzm̩/ (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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list