sensationalism

Name: sensationalism, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“sensationalism” is uncommon English (frequency #51,984 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,984
frequency rank, English: 54,294
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 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...

Key facts for sensationalism
Property	Value
Headword	sensationalism
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
Letters	14
Frequency rank	#51,984
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sensationalism” sits in English frequency

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

#51,984

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sensationalism is uncommon English at frequency #51,984 among 54,294 “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
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
A theory of philosophy that all knowledge is ultimately derived from the senses.

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.

Using “sensationalism”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is S-E-N-S-A-T-I-O-N-A-L-I-S-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.