totalitarian
/ˌtəʊtalɪˈtɛəɹiən/
"totalitarian" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“totalitarian” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #22,249 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #22,249
- frequency rank, English
- 12
- letters
- 17
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of or relating to a system of government where the people have virtually no authority and the state wields absolute control of every aspect of the country, socially, financially, and politically.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | totalitarian |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌtəʊtalɪˈtɛəɹiən/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #22,249 |
| Misspellings tracked | 17 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “totalitarian” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for totalitarian is 12 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌtəʊtalɪˈtɛəɹiən/. Corpus data places it at rank #22,249 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Of or relating to a system of government where the people have virtually no authority and the state wields absolute control of every aspect of the country, socially, financially, and politically.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for totalitarian, with forms such as "ottalitarian", "toatlitarian", and "totailtarian". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Italian totalitario (“complete, absolute, totalitarian”) + -an. Equivalent to totality + -arian. The correct English form is totalitarian, spelled T-O-T-A-L-I-T-A-R-I-A-N.
Definition
- 1Of or relating to a system of government where the people have virtually no authority and the state wields absolute control of every aspect of the country, socially, financially, and politically.
Etymology
From Italian totalitario (“complete, absolute, totalitarian”) + -an. Equivalent to totality + -arian.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ottalitarian,toatlitarian,totailtarian,totaliatrian,totalitairan,totalitarain,totalitariann,totalitarina,totalitarrian,totalitraian,totalittarian,totallitarian,totaltiarian,totlaitarian,tottalitarian,ttoalitarian,ttotalitarian
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of totalitarian - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "totalitarian"?
What does "totalitarian" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “totalitarian”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-O-T-A-L-I-T-A-R-I-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌtəʊtalɪˈtɛəɹiən/ (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
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.