recidivism

/rɪˈsɪdɪvɪzm̩/

//rɪˈsɪdɪvɪzm̩// noun

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

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

The verdict

“recidivism” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #42,365. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#42,365
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
15
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Committing new offenses after a crime committed in the past.

Corpus desk

Index EN-recidivism · recidivism · English

recidivism · rank #42,365 · 15 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #42,365
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH reapply

Nearest frequency peer: reapply (-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 “recidivism”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “recidivism” 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 recidivism
PropertyValue
Headwordrecidivism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/rɪˈsɪdɪvɪzm̩/
Letters10
Frequency rank#42,365
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “recidivism”

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).recidivismlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “reapply” (#42,364), “recollect” (#42,366), “readout” (#42,363). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “recidivism” is #42,365. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around recidivism (IPA /rɪˈsɪdɪvɪzm̩/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #42,365 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for recidivism, with forms such as "ercidivism", "rceidivism", and "reccidivism". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French récidivisme, from Latin recidīvus (“returning, recurring”). Compare recidivous, -ism. By surface analysis, recidive + -ism. The correct English form is recidivism, spelled R-E-C-I-D-I-V-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Committing new offenses after a crime committed in the past.
  2. 2
    Chronic repetition of criminal or other antisocial behavior.
  3. 3
    Returning to a negative behavior after having stopped it for a period of time.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The increase in criminal activity was attributed to recidivism.
  2. Unintended mathwashing occurs when the algorithm is left unchecked, and, learning from historical data, amplifies social bias. The U.S. justice system uses an algorithm called COMPAS to determine a criminal's likelihood to re-offend. COMPAS has been proven by Pro Publica to predict that black defendants will have higher rates of recidivism than they actua…

Etymology

From French récidivisme, from Latin recidīvus (“returning, recurring”). Compare recidivous, -ism. By surface analysis, recidive + -ism.

This word in other languages

reincidencia(Español)récidive(Français)Rückfall(Deutsch)reincidência(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ercidivism
  • rceidivism
  • reccidivism
  • recdiivism
  • reciddivism
  • recidiivsm
  • recidivims
  • recidivismm
  • recidivissm
  • recidivsim
  • recidivvism
  • recidviism
  • reciidvism
  • reicdivism
  • rrecidivism

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of recidivism - 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.

ercidivism2rceidivism2reccidivism1recdiivism2reciddivism1recidiivsm2recidivims2recidivismm1
Edit distance from "recidivism"

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 "recidivism"?
"recidivism" is spelled R-E-C-I-D-I-V-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /rɪˈsɪdɪvɪzm̩/.
What does "recidivism" mean?
As a noun, "recidivism" means: Committing new offenses after a crime committed in the past.
What are common misspellings of "recidivism"?
Common misspellings include "ercidivism", "rceidivism", "reccidivism", "recdiivism", "reciddivism". The correct spelling is "recidivism".
How do you pronounce "recidivism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "recidivism" is /rɪˈsɪdɪvɪzm̩/. 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 "recidivism"?
From French récidivisme, from Latin recidīvus (“returning, recurring”). Compare recidivous, -ism. By surface analysis, recidive + -ism. 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 "recidivism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

repeatable#42,372publically#42,352profitably#42,349Phoenician#42,337

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

prankster15 variantsSchindler15 variantsstaunchly15 variantssubterfuge15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list