psychology

/saɪˈkɒl.ə.d͡ʒɪ/

//saɪˈkɒl.ə.d͡ʒɪ// noun

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

"psychology" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“psychology” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,261. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,261
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
17
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The study of the human mind.

Corpus desk

Index EN-psychology · psychology · English

psychology · rank #4,261 · 17 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,261
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH presentation

Nearest frequency peer: presentation (-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 “psychology”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “psychology” 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 psychology
PropertyValue
Headwordpsychology
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/saɪˈkɒl.ə.d͡ʒɪ/
Letters10
Frequency rank#4,261
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “psychology”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “presentation” (#4,260), “relation” (#4,262), “praise” (#4,259). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “psychology” is #4,261. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around psychology (IPA /saɪˈkɒl.ə.d͡ʒɪ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,261 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for psychology, with forms such as "ppsychology", "pscyhology", and "pssychology". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French psychologie, from Renaissance Latin psychologia, from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul”) + -λογία (-logía, “study of”), equivalent to psycho- + -logy. The Latin term is believed by some to have been coined in a lost treatise by Croatian humanis… The correct English form is psychology, spelled P-S-Y-C-H-O-L-O-G-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The study of the human mind.
  2. 2
    The study of human or animal behavior.
  3. 3
    The study of the soul.
  4. 4
    The mental, emotional, and behavioral characteristics pertaining to a specified person, group, or activity.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Idleness is the beginning of all psychology .
  2. Alcinous in Didascalius chapter 23 uses the three physical locations of the human soul from Timaeus 69c–72c […] to lead into a dedicated discussion of psychology.

Etymology

From French psychologie, from Renaissance Latin psychologia, from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul”) + -λογία (-logía, “study of”), equivalent to psycho- + -logy. The Latin term is believed by some to have been coined in a lost treatise by Croatian humanist Marko Marulić (1450–1524), but this is disputed by other scholars. It is first attested in the 1570s, at which time it was apparently already current, and may be a Hellenization of the established expression dē animā (“on the soul”) in titles.

Synonyms

psychology

This word in other languages

psicología(Español)psychologie(Français)Psychologie(Deutsch)psicologia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ppsychology
  • pscyhology
  • pssychology
  • psycchology
  • psychhology
  • psychloogy
  • psycholgoy
  • psychollogy
  • psychologgy
  • psychologyy
  • psycholoyg
  • psychoolgy
  • psycohlogy
  • psyhcology
  • psyychology
  • pyschology
  • spychology

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of psychology - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ppsychology1pscyhology2pssychology1psycchology1psychhology1psychloogy2psycholgoy2psychollogy1
Edit distance from "psychology"

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 "psychology"?
"psychology" is spelled P-S-Y-C-H-O-L-O-G-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /saɪˈkɒl.ə.d͡ʒɪ/.
What does "psychology" mean?
As a noun, "psychology" means: The study of the human mind.
What are common misspellings of "psychology"?
Common misspellings include "ppsychology", "pscyhology", "pssychology", "psycchology", "psychhology". The correct spelling is "psychology".
How do you pronounce "psychology"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "psychology" is /saɪˈkɒl.ə.d͡ʒɪ/. 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 "psychology"?
From French psychologie, from Renaissance Latin psychologia, from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul”) + -λογία (-logía, “study of”), equivalent to psycho- + -logy. The Latin term is believed by some to have been coined in a lost treatise by Croati... 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 "psychology", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

laboratory#4,247engagement#4,233collective#4,290concerning#4,221

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

Massachusetts17 variantsdocumentary17 variantsdistributed17 variantsinvolvement17 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list