strictness

noun

"strictness" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“strictness” is uncommon English (frequency #75,453 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,453
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state or quality of being strict.

Corpus desk

Index EN-strictness · strictness · English

strictness · rank #75,453 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #75,453
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Stourbridge

Nearest frequency peer: Stourbridge (-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 “strictness”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for strictness
PropertyValue
Headwordstrictness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Frequency rank#75,453
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “strictness” 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).strictnessfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Stourbridge” (#75,452), “stour” (#75,451), “stoping” (#75,450). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “strictness” is #75,453. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

strictness is uncommon English at frequency #75,453 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

strictness has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From strict + -ness. The correct English form is strictness, spelled S-T-R-I-C-T-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state or quality of being strict.
  2. 2
    The result or product of being strict.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Discipline calls for a certain strictness.
  2. I lost all restraint, and yielding to the force of the emotion, gave down, as mere woman, those effusions of pleasure, which, in the strictness of still faithful love, I could have wished to have held up.

Etymology

From strict + -ness.

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 "strictness"?
"strictness" is spelled S-T-R-I-C-T-N-E-S-S.
What does "strictness" mean?
As a noun, "strictness" means: The state or quality of being strict.
What is the origin of the word "strictness"?
From strict + -ness. 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 "strictness", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list