spiritualism

/ˈspɪɹɪtjuəlɪzəm/

//ˈspɪɹɪtjuəlɪzəm// noun

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

"spiritualism" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“spiritualism” has 18 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #48,503. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#48,503
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
18
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A doctrine, opposing materialism, that claims transcendency of the divine being, the altogether spiritual character of reality and the value of inwardness of consciousness.

Corpus desk

Index EN-spiritualism · spiritualism · English

spiritualism · rank #48,503 · 18 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #48,503
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 18 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Spenser

Nearest frequency peer: Spenser (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “spiritualism”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “spiritualism” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

spiritualism vs spirituality
83% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for spiritualism
PropertyValue
Headwordspiritualism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈspɪɹɪtjuəlɪzəm/
Letters12
Frequency rank#48,503
Misspellings tracked18
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “spiritualism”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Spenser” (#48,502), “Srinivasan” (#48,504), “specialisation” (#48,501). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “spiritualism” is #48,503. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 18 spelling variants around spiritualism (IPA /ˈspɪɹɪtjuəlɪzəm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #48,503 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for spiritualism, with forms such as "psiritualism", "sipritualism", and "spiirtualism". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "spirituality", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From spiritual + -ism. In Allan Kardec's book The Spirits Book (1857) (Le Livre des Esprits in the original French), in which a distinction between spiritism and spiritualism is defined. The correct English form is spiritualism, spelled S-P-I-R-I-T-U-A-L-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A doctrine, opposing materialism, that claims transcendency of the divine being, the altogether spiritual character of reality and the value of inwardness of consciousness.
  2. 2
    A belief that the dead communicate with the living, especially through a medium. Used in a broader sense than spiritism.
  3. 3
    The quality or state of being spiritual.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. What is called spiritualism should, I think, be called a mental species of materialism.
  2. I wish it were possible to impress this truth upon people who rush into spiritualism from curiosity, or who try "table rapping" or some similar phenomenon "for fun".

Etymology

From spiritual + -ism. In Allan Kardec's book The Spirits Book (1857) (Le Livre des Esprits in the original French), in which a distinction between spiritism and spiritualism is defined.

This word in other languages

espiritualismo(Español)spiritualisme(Français)Spiritismus(Deutsch)espiritismo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psiritualism
  • sipritualism
  • spiirtualism
  • spiritaulism
  • spirittualism
  • spirituailsm
  • spiritualims
  • spiritualismm
  • spiritualissm
  • spirituallism
  • spiritualsim
  • spiritulaism
  • spiriutalism
  • spirritualism
  • spirtiualism
  • sppiritualism
  • spriitualism
  • sspiritualism

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of spiritualism - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

psiritualism2sipritualism2spiirtualism2spiritaulism2spirittualism1spirituailsm2spiritualims2spiritualismm1
Edit distance from "spiritualism"

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 "spiritualism"?
"spiritualism" is spelled S-P-I-R-I-T-U-A-L-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈspɪɹɪtjuəlɪzəm/.
What does "spiritualism" mean?
As a noun, "spiritualism" means: A doctrine, opposing materialism, that claims transcendency of the divine being, the altogether spiritual character of reality and the value of inwardness of consciousness.
What words are commonly confused with "spiritualism"?
"spiritualism" is commonly confused with "spirituality". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "spiritualism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spiritualism" is /ˈspɪɹɪtjuəlɪzəm/. 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 "spiritualism"?
From spiritual + -ism. In Allan Kardec's book The Spirits Book (1857) (Le Livre des Esprits in the original French), in which a distinction between spiritism and spiritualism is defined. 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 "spiritualism", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

stormtrooper#48,511proofreading#48,427profiteering#48,426nonchalantly#48,382

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (18 here; floor ≥5).

orthography18 variantshistological18 variantsexpansionist18 variantsexpressionism18 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list