ventriloquist

/vɛnˈtɹɪl.ə.kwɪst/

//vɛnˈtɹɪl.ə.kwɪst// noun

"ventriloquist" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ventriloquist” is uncommon English (frequency #56,514 among 969 “V” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#56,514
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person, especially an entertainer, who practices ventriloquism.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ventriloquist · ventriloquist · English

ventriloquist · rank #56,514 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #56,514
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH valance

Nearest frequency peer: valance (-2 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 “ventriloquist”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ventriloquist
PropertyValue
Headwordventriloquist
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/vɛnˈtɹɪl.ə.kwɪst/
Letters13
Frequency rank#56,514
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ventriloquist” 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).ventriloquistfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “valance” (#56,512), “vesper” (#56,516), “unsub” (#56,511). Among 969 “V” headwords, “ventriloquist” is #56,514. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ventriloquist is uncommon English at frequency #56,514 among 969 “V” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /vɛnˈtɹɪl.ə.kwɪst/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A person, especially an entertainer, who practices ventriloquism.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for ventriloquist in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From ventriloquy + -ist. The correct English form is ventriloquist, spelled V-E-N-T-R-I-L-O-Q-U-I-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person, especially an entertainer, who practices ventriloquism.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Most ridiculous is the discomfiture which attends the opponents of predication, who, like the ventriloquist Eurycles, have the voice that answers them in their own breast.
  2. "Oh, I am a ventriloquist," said the little man. "I can throw the sound of my voice wherever I wish, so that you thought it was coming out of the Head. […]"

Etymology

From ventriloquy + -ist.

Synonyms

biloquistventriloque

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

How do you spell "ventriloquist"?
"ventriloquist" is spelled V-E-N-T-R-I-L-O-Q-U-I-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /vɛnˈtɹɪl.ə.kwɪst/.
What does "ventriloquist" mean?
As a noun, "ventriloquist" means: A person, especially an entertainer, who practices ventriloquism.
How do you pronounce "ventriloquist"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ventriloquist" is /vɛnˈtɹɪl.ə.kwɪst/. 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 "ventriloquist"?
From ventriloquy + -ist. 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 "ventriloquist", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list