terrorism
/ˈtɛɹəɹɪzəm/
"terrorism" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“terrorism” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,805 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #4,805
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The system of fear and intimidation put into place during the Reign of Terror in Revolutionary France around 1793-94.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | terrorism |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtɛɹəɹɪzəm/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #4,805 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “terrorism” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for terrorism is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtɛɹəɹɪzəm/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,805 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for terrorism, with forms such as "etrrorism", "terorism", and "terorrism". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "terrorist", "terrorize", "terrorists", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French terrorisme, from terreur + -isme. By surface analysis, terror + -ism. The word first appears in English in 1795 in reference to the Jacobin radicals of France, who ruled during the Reign of Terror. The correct English form is terrorism, spelled T-E-R-R-O-R-I-S-M.
Definition
- 1The system of fear and intimidation put into place during the Reign of Terror in Revolutionary France around 1793-94.
- 2The use of unlawful violence against people or property to achieve political objectives.
- 3The use of unlawful violence against people or property to achieve political objectives.
Etymology
From French terrorisme, from terreur + -isme. By surface analysis, terror + -ism. The word first appears in English in 1795 in reference to the Jacobin radicals of France, who ruled during the Reign of Terror.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: etrrorism,terorism,terorrism,terroirsm,terrorims,terrorismm,terrorissm,terrorrism,terrorsim,terrroism,trerorism,tterrorism
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of terrorism - 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.
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 “terrorism”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-E-R-R-O-R-I-S-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈtɛɹəɹɪzəm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “terrorist” - see the side-by-side comparison. terrorism vs terrorist
- 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.