shamanism

/ˈʃeɪmənɪzəm/

//ˈʃeɪmənɪzəm// noun

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

"shamanism" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shamanism” is uncommon English (frequency #56,429 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#56,429
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit world.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shamanism · shamanism · English

shamanism · rank #56,429 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #56,429
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH shagging

Nearest frequency peer: shagging (-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 “shamanism”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for shamanism
PropertyValue
Headwordshamanism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʃeɪmənɪzəm/
Letters9
Frequency rank#56,429
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “shamanism” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).shamanismfalls 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: “shagging” (#56,428), “sheepdog” (#56,431), “sesh” (#56,426). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shamanism” is #56,429. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

shamanism is uncommon English at frequency #56,429 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈʃeɪmənɪzəm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any of a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit world.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for shamanism in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From shaman + -ism. The correct English form is shamanism, spelled S-H-A-M-A-N-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit world.

Etymology

From shaman + -ism.

This word in other languages

chamanismo(Español)chamanisme(Français)Schamanismus(Deutsch)

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 "shamanism"?
"shamanism" is spelled S-H-A-M-A-N-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃeɪmənɪzəm/.
What does "shamanism" mean?
As a noun, "shamanism" means: Any of a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit world.
How do you pronounce "shamanism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shamanism" is /ˈʃeɪmənɪzəm/. 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 "shamanism"?
From shaman + -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 "shamanism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Silverton#56,439soliloquy#56,453repudiate#56,403sonically#56,456

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list