stigmatize
/ˈstɪɡmətaɪz/
"stigmatize" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“stigmatize” is uncommon English (frequency #73,659 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #73,659
- frequency rank, English
- 54,294
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To characterize as disgraceful or ignominious; to mark with a stigma or stigmata.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | stigmatize |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈstɪɡmətaɪz/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #73,659 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “stigmatize” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
stigmatize is uncommon English at frequency #73,659 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈstɪɡmətaɪz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To characterize as disgraceful or ignominious; to mark with a stigma or stigmata.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for stigmatize, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Medieval Latin stigmatizō (“to brand”), from Byzantine Greek στιγματίζω (stigmatízō, “to mark”), from στίγμα (stígma). The correct English form is stigmatize, spelled S-T-I-G-M-A-T-I-Z-E.
Definition
- 1To characterize as disgraceful or ignominious; to mark with a stigma or stigmata.
Etymology
From Medieval Latin stigmatizō (“to brand”), from Byzantine Greek στιγματίζω (stigmatízō, “to mark”), from στίγμα (stígma).
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
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Using “stigmatize”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-T-I-G-M-A-T-I-Z-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈstɪɡmətaɪz/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.