protectionism
pro·tec·tio·ni·sm/pɹəˈtɛk.ʃə.nɪ.zəm/noun
protectionism is spelled P-R-O-T-E-C-T-I-O-N-I-S-M: 13 letters and 5 syllables (pro·tec·tio·ni·sm). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, protectionism means “A system or policy of protecting the domestic producers of a product from foreign competition by imposing tariffs, quotas, duties or other barriers…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of protectionism is protectionisms.
How many letters and syllables are in protectionism?
| Letters | 13: P-R-O-T-E-C-T-I-O-N-I-S-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5: pro·tec·tio·ni·sm |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,565th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is protectionism?
Protectionism appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th 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 protectionism?
- /pɹəˈtɛk.ʃə.nɪ.zəm/
Protectionism has 5 syllables, split pro·tec·tio·ni·sm in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: Protectionism_US.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of protectionism
- protectionisms plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does protectionism mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A system or policy of protecting the domestic producers of a product from foreign competition by imposing tariffs, quotas, duties or other barriers on importations.
- 2
Linguistic purism.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Protectionism in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | protectionnisme |
| German | Protektionismus |
| Portuguese | protecionismo |
| Spanish | proteccionismo |
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 protectionism come from?
Borrowed from French protectionnisme, equivalent to protection + -ism.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).