show trial

noun

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

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A trial held for appearance's sake, but whose verdict is predetermined, especially a "guilty" verdict with the purpose of making an example of the accused.

Key facts for show trial
PropertyValue
Headwordshow trial
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “show trial” sits in English frequency

show trial falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Rare enough to double-check

show trial is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A trial held for appearance's sake, but whose verdict is predetermined, especially a "guilty" verdict with the purpose of making an example of the accused.".

show trial has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is show trial, spelled S-H-O-W- -T-R-I-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A trial held for appearance's sake, but whose verdict is predetermined, especially a "guilty" verdict with the purpose of making an example of the accused.

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 "show trial"?
"show trial" is spelled S-H-O-W- -T-R-I-A-L.
What does "show trial" mean?
As a noun, "show trial" means: A trial held for appearance's sake, but whose verdict is predetermined, especially a "guilty" verdict with the purpose of making an example of the accused.
What language does "show trial" come from?
"show trial" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “show trial”

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

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list