positivist
"positivist" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“positivist” is uncommon English (frequency #75,308 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #75,308
- frequency rank, English
- 4,417
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A believer in positivism.
Corpus desk
Index EN-positivist · positivist · English
positivist · rank #75,308 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #75,308
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,417
- PHOTO-FINISH posy
Nearest frequency peer: posy (+1 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 “positivist”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- pitiable
pitiable
24,700 corpus weight
- plainer
plainer
24,698 corpus weight
- pored
pored
24,695 corpus weight
- positivist
positivist
24,693 corpus weight
- posy
posy
24,692 corpus weight
- Prithvi
Prithvi
24,686 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “positivist” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | positivist |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #75,308 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “positivist” in English
Rare enough to double-check
positivist is uncommon English at frequency #75,308 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A believer in positivism.".
No misspelling variants are generated for positivist in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword 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: Perhaps borrowed from French positiviste. Equivalent to positive + -ist, after positivism. The correct English form is positivist, spelled P-O-S-I-T-I-V-I-S-T.
Definition
- 1A believer in positivism.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how positivist appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The English mind is prone to positivism and kindred forms of materialistic philosophy, and we must expect the derivative theory to be taken up in that interest. We have no predilection for that school, but the contrary. If we had, we might have looked complacently upon a line of criticism which would indirectly, but effectively, play into the hands of pos…
By discouraging what they conceive to be the weakness of their master, the English Positivists have broken the strength of their religion. A man who has faith must be prepared not only to be a martyr, but to be a fool.
Etymology
Perhaps borrowed from French positiviste. Equivalent to positive + -ist, after positivism.
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
How do you spell "positivist"?
What does "positivist" mean?
What is the origin of the word "positivist"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "positivist", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).