sensationalism

noun

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

"sensationalism" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sensationalism” is uncommon English (frequency #51,984 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,984
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The use of sensational subject matter, style or methods, or the sensational subject matter itself; behavior, published materials, or broadcasts that are intentionally controversial, exaggerated, lu...

Corpus desk

Index EN-sensationalism · sensationalism · English

sensationalism · rank #51,984 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,984
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Septuagint

Nearest frequency peer: Septuagint (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “sensationalism”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “sensationalism” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for sensationalism
PropertyValue
Headwordsensationalism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters14
Frequency rank#51,984
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “sensationalism” in English

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Septuagint” (#51,985), “Seaford” (#51,982), “sheathed” (#51,986). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sensationalism” is #51,984. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sensationalism is uncommon English at frequency #51,984 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for sensationalism in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From sensational + -ism. The correct English form is sensationalism, spelled S-E-N-S-A-T-I-O-N-A-L-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The use of sensational subject matter, style or methods, or the sensational subject matter itself; behavior, published materials, or broadcasts that are intentionally controversial, exaggerated, lurid, loud, or attention-grabbing. Especially applied to news media in a pejorative sense that they are reporting in a manner to gain audience or notoriety but at the expense of accuracy and professionalism.
  2. 2
    A theory of philosophy that all knowledge is ultimately derived from the senses.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Newspaper articles also were generally positive in tone, although a tendency towards sensationalism means that the spread of hybrid forms is occasionally touted as the universal language of the future.

Etymology

From sensational + -ism.

Synonyms

sensualism

Antonyms

antisensationalism

This word in other languages

sensacionalismo(Español)sensationnalisme(Français)

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 "sensationalism"?
"sensationalism" is spelled S-E-N-S-A-T-I-O-N-A-L-I-S-M.
What does "sensationalism" mean?
As a noun, "sensationalism" means: The use of sensational subject matter, style or methods, or the sensational subject matter itself; behavior, published materials, or broadcasts that are intentionally controversial, exaggerated, lu...
What is the origin of the word "sensationalism"?
From sensational + -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 "sensationalism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 14 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

paleontologist#51,899unpleasantness#52,072egalitarianism#51,678beautification#51,562

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list