Pharisee

/ˈfɛɹɪsiː/

//ˈfɛɹɪsiː// noun

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

"pharisee" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Pharisee” is uncommon English (frequency #69,332 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#69,332
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A member of an ancient Jewish political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 B.C.E.–70 C.E.). The movement was ultimately t...

Corpus desk

Index EN-pharisee · Pharisee · English

Pharisee · rank #69,332 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #69,332
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH petar

Nearest frequency peer: petar (-3 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.

Long-tail ranks near “Pharisee”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “Pharisee” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Pharisee
PropertyValue
HeadwordPharisee
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɛɹɪsiː/
Letters8
Frequency rank#69,332
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Pharisee” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).Phariseefalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “petar” (#69,329), “photobook” (#69,335), “Perlmutter” (#69,328). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “Pharisee” is #69,332. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Pharisee is uncommon English at frequency #69,332 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈfɛɹɪsiː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for Pharisee in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin Pharisaeus, from Ancient Greek Φαρισαῖος (Pharisaîos), a transliteration of Aramaic פְּרִישַׁיָּא (pərîšayyâ’), emphatic plural of פְּרִישׁ (pərîš, “separatist”, literally “separated”), related to Hebrew פרוש (parush), qal passive participle of t… The correct English form is Pharisee, spelled P-H-A-R-I-S-E-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A member of an ancient Jewish political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 B.C.E.–70 C.E.). The movement was ultimately the basis for most contemporary forms of Judaism.
  2. 2
    A person who values the letter of the law over its spirit or intention.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
  2. I cannot tell. They [Jews]are always doing it. The Pharisees, for instance, say that there are angels, and the Sadducees declare that angels do not exist.

Etymology

From Latin Pharisaeus, from Ancient Greek Φαρισαῖος (Pharisaîos), a transliteration of Aramaic פְּרִישַׁיָּא (pərîšayyâ’), emphatic plural of פְּרִישׁ (pərîš, “separatist”, literally “separated”), related to Hebrew פרוש (parush), qal passive participle of the verb פָּרַשׁ (pāraš), meaning one who is separated for a life of purity.

This word in other languages

fariseo(Español)pharisien(Français)Pharisäer(Deutsch)

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 "Pharisee"?
"Pharisee" is spelled P-H-A-R-I-S-E-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɛɹɪsiː/.
What does "Pharisee" mean?
As a noun, "Pharisee" means: A member of an ancient Jewish political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 B.C.E.–70 C.E.). The movement was ultimately t...
How do you pronounce "Pharisee"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Pharisee" is /ˈfɛɹɪsiː/. 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 "Pharisee"?
From Latin Pharisaeus, from Ancient Greek Φαρισαῖος (Pharisaîos), a transliteration of Aramaic פְּרִישַׁיָּא (pərîšayyâ’), emphatic plural of פְּרִישׁ (pərîš, “separatist”, literally “separated”), related to Hebrew פרוש (parush), qal passive parti... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
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Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Pharisee", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

padlocks#69,315Potemkin#69,350Powhatan#69,351overlain#69,312

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list