slavish

/ˈsleɪvɪʃ/

//ˈsleɪvɪʃ// adj

"slavish" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“slavish” is uncommon English (frequency #76,343 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#76,343
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In the manner of a slave; abject.

Corpus desk

Index EN-slavish · slavish · English

slavish · rank #76,343 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #76,343
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sisal

Nearest frequency peer: sisal (-2 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 “slavish”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for slavish
PropertyValue
Headwordslavish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈsleɪvɪʃ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#76,343
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “slavish” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).slavishfalls 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: “sisal” (#76,341), “sloshed” (#76,345), “signore” (#76,338). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “slavish” is #76,343. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

slavish is uncommon English at frequency #76,343 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈsleɪvɪʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for slavish, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From slave + -ish. The correct English form is slavish, spelled S-L-A-V-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    In the manner of a slave; abject.
  2. 2
    Utterly faithful; totally lacking originality, creativity, or reflection.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. “You have freed them from higher restraint, Halbert,” answered the Abbot, “and therein taught them to rebel against your own.” / “Fear not that, Edward,” exclaimed Halbert, who never gave his brother his monastic name of Ambrosius; “none obey the command of real duty so well as those who are free from the observance of slavish bondage.”
  2. a slavish reproduction

Etymology

From slave + -ish.

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); 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 "slavish"?
"slavish" is spelled S-L-A-V-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsleɪvɪʃ/.
What does "slavish" mean?
As an adjective, "slavish" means: In the manner of a slave; abject.
How do you pronounce "slavish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "slavish" is /ˈsleɪvɪʃ/. 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 "slavish"?
From slave + -ish. 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 "slavish", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list