pseudoscience

/ˈs(j)uː.dəʊ.saɪ.əns/

//ˈs(j)uː.dəʊ.saɪ.əns// noun

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

"pseudoscience" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pseudoscience” has 20 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #49,571. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#49,571
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
20
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any body of knowledge that purports to be scientific or to be supported by science (or may appear to be scientific) but which fails to comply with the scientific method (or rather, is not true scie...

Corpus desk

Index EN-pseudoscience · pseudoscience · English

pseudoscience · rank #49,571 · 20 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #49,571
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 20 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH prototypical

Nearest frequency peer: prototypical (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “pseudoscience”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “pseudoscience” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pseudoscience
PropertyValue
Headwordpseudoscience
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈs(j)uː.dəʊ.saɪ.əns/
Letters13
Frequency rank#49,571
Misspellings tracked20
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pseudoscience”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).pseudosciencelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “prototypical” (#49,570), “puritanical” (#49,572), “pyrite” (#49,574). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pseudoscience” is #49,571. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 20 spelling variants around pseudoscience (IPA /ˈs(j)uː.dəʊ.saɪ.əns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #49,571 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 20 likely wrong-spelling variants for pseudoscience, with forms such as "pesudoscience", "ppseudoscience", and "pseduoscience". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From pseudo- + science, first attested in 1796, in reference to alchemy. The correct English form is pseudoscience, spelled P-S-E-U-D-O-S-C-I-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any body of knowledge that purports to be scientific or to be supported by science (or may appear to be scientific) but which fails to comply with the scientific method (or rather, is not true science).
  2. 2
    Fictitious science as portrayed in science fiction.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The fantastical pseudo-science of alchemy has in all ages had its numerous votaries …
  2. We had enough to do in this world. Life was a beautiful thing. The man who appreciated its real duties and beauties would have sufficient to employ him without dabbling in pseudo sciences which had their roots in frauds, exposed already a hundred times and yet finding fresh crowds of foolish devotees whose insane credulity and irrational prejudice made th…

Etymology

From pseudo- + science, first attested in 1796, in reference to alchemy.

This word in other languages

pseudociencia(Español)pseudo-science(Français)Pseudowissenschaft(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pesudoscience
  • ppseudoscience
  • pseduoscience
  • pseuddoscience
  • pseudocsience
  • pseudosccience
  • pseudosceince
  • pseudosciance
  • pseudosciecne
  • pseudosciencce
  • pseudoscienec
  • pseudosciennce
  • pseudoscinece
  • pseudosicence
  • pseudosscience
  • pseudsocience
  • pseuodscience
  • psseudoscience
  • psuedoscience
  • speudoscience

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pseudoscience - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

pesudoscience2ppseudoscience1pseduoscience2pseuddoscience1pseudocsience2pseudosccience1pseudosceince2pseudosciance1
Edit distance from "pseudoscience"

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 "pseudoscience"?
"pseudoscience" is spelled P-S-E-U-D-O-S-C-I-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈs(j)uː.dəʊ.saɪ.əns/.
What does "pseudoscience" mean?
As a noun, "pseudoscience" means: Any body of knowledge that purports to be scientific or to be supported by science (or may appear to be scientific) but which fails to comply with the scientific method (or rather, is not true scie...
What are common misspellings of "pseudoscience"?
Common misspellings include "pesudoscience", "ppseudoscience", "pseduoscience", "pseuddoscience", "pseudocsience". The correct spelling is "pseudoscience".
How do you pronounce "pseudoscience"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pseudoscience" is /ˈs(j)uː.dəʊ.saɪ.əns/. 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 "pseudoscience"?
From pseudo- + science, first attested in 1796, in reference to alchemy. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

perfectionism#49,544irrepressible#49,431accelerometer#49,750bidirectional#49,791

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (20 here; floor ≥5).

initialization20 variantsbacktracking20 variantsbioengineering20 variantscontemptible20 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list