popish

/ˈpəʊpɪʃ/

//ˈpəʊpɪʃ// adj

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

"popish" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“popish” is uncommon English (frequency #87,691 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#87,691
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - of or pertaining to Roman Catholicism

Key facts for popish
PropertyValue
Headwordpopish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈpəʊpɪʃ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#87,691
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “popish” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

popish is uncommon English at frequency #87,691 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈpəʊpɪʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

popish has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From pope + -ish. The correct English form is popish, spelled P-O-P-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    of or pertaining to Roman Catholicism
  2. 2
    acting like, or holding beliefs similar to, the pope.

Etymology

From pope + -ish.

Synonyms

Roman Catholic § Synonyms

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 "popish"?
"popish" is spelled P-O-P-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpəʊpɪʃ/.
What does "popish" mean?
As an adjective, "popish" means: of or pertaining to Roman Catholicism
How do you pronounce "popish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "popish" is /ˈpəʊpɪʃ/. 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 "popish"?
From pope + -ish. 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 “popish”

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

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

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list