Defensive

[defɛnˈziːvə]

/[defɛnˈziːvə]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Defensive” has 13 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #12,478. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,478
frequency rank, German
2,764
“D” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Abwehrbereitschaft, Verteidigung

Corpus desk

Index DE-defensive · Defensive · German

Defensive · rank #12,478 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,478
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,764
  • PHOTO-FINISH contest

Nearest frequency peer: contest (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „Defensive“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „Defensive“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Defensive vs Defensiven
90% similar
Defensive vs defensiv
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Defensive
PropertyValue
HeadwordDefensive
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[defɛnˈziːvə]
Letters9
Frequency rank#12,478
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Defensive“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.Defensiveliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „contest“ (#12,477), „Desaster“ (#12,479), „christlicher“ (#12,476). Unter 2,764 „D“-Lemmata liegt „Defensive“ bei #12,478. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around Defensive (IPA [defɛnˈziːvə]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,478 among 2,764 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for Defensive, with forms such as "ddefensive", "deefnsive", and "defenisve". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Defensiven", "defensiv", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is Defensive, spelled D-E-F-E-N-S-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Abwehrbereitschaft, Verteidigung
  2. 2
    Teil einer Mannschaft, der vorwiegend gegnerische Angriffe aufhalten soll

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In der zweiten Hälfte des Zweiten Weltkriegs hatte die deutsche Defensive mächtig zutun.
  2. „Wie man allerdings die eigene Existenz aus der Defensive, im friedfertigen Getöse eines Rückzugsgefechts sichern kann, das bleibt das Geheimnis unserer deutschen Nachbarn.“

Synonyms

DefenseVerteidigung

Antonyms

Offensive

This word in other languages

defensive(English)defensiva(Español)défensive(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddefensive
  • deefnsive
  • defenisve
  • defennsive
  • defensiev
  • defensivve
  • defenssive
  • defensvie
  • defesnive
  • deffensive
  • defnesive
  • dfeensive
  • edfensive

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Defensive - 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.

ddefensive1deefnsive2defenisve2defennsive1defensiev2defensivve1defenssive1defensvie2
Edit distance from "Defensive"

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 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Defensive"?
"Defensive" is spelled D-E-F-E-N-S-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is [defɛnˈziːvə].
What does "Defensive" mean?
As a noun, "Defensive" means: Abwehrbereitschaft, Verteidigung
What words are commonly confused with "Defensive"?
"Defensive" is commonly confused with "Defensiven", "defensiv". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Defensive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Defensive" is [defɛnˈziːvə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Defensive" come from?
"Defensive" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Defensive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

einlassen#12,486einstigen#12,487empfindet#12,488forderten#12,493

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

bewaffnete13 variantsAuftritten13 variantshässliche13 variantsAnbietern13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list