paternalism
/pəˈtɝnəlɪzəm/noun
paternalism is spelled P-A-T-E-R-N-A-L-I-S-M: 11 letters and 5 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, paternalism means “The treatment of people in a fatherly manner, especially by caring for them and sometimes being stern with them” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of paternalism is paternalisms.
How many letters and syllables are in paternalism?
| Letters | 11: P-A-T-E-R-N-A-L-I-S-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 69,884th 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 paternalism?
Paternalism appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th 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 paternalism?
- UK /pəˈtɜːnəlɪzəm/
- US /pəˈtɝnəlɪzəm/
- Australia /pəˈtɜː.nəlɪzəm/
Paternalism has 5 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)-NaomiAmethyst-paternalism.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of paternalism
- paternalisms plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does paternalism mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The treatment of people in a fatherly manner, especially by caring for them and sometimes being stern with them.
- 2
The guiding of people in a manner that limits their autonomy in the name of their own well-being.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Paternalism in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense treatment of people in a fatherly manner:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | paternalisme |
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 paternalism come from?
From paternal + -ism.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).