self-sufficiency

noun

"self-sufficiency" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“self-sufficiency” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The condition of being self-sufficient.

Corpus desk

Index EN-self-sufficiency · self-sufficiency · English

self-sufficiency · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 16 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for self-sufficiency
PropertyValue
Headwordself-sufficiency
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “self-sufficiency” in English

self-sufficiencysits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

self-sufficiency is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The condition of being self-sufficient.".

No misspelling variants are generated for self-sufficiency in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From self- + sufficiency. The correct English form is self-sufficiency, spelled S-E-L-F---S-U-F-F-I-C-I-E-N-C-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The condition of being self-sufficient.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. “For my own part,” she rejoined, “I must confess that I never could see any beauty in her. Her face is too thin; her complexion has no brilliancy; and her features are not at all handsome. Her nose wants character; there is nothing marked in its lines. Her teeth are tolerable, but not out of the common way; and as for her eyes, which have sometimes been c…

Etymology

From self- + sufficiency.

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "self-sufficiency"?
"self-sufficiency" is spelled S-E-L-F---S-U-F-F-I-C-I-E-N-C-Y.
What does "self-sufficiency" mean?
As a noun, "self-sufficiency" means: The condition of being self-sufficient.
What is the origin of the word "self-sufficiency"?
From self- + sufficiency. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list