Which to use
“cooperate” is a verb and “cooperative” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,723
- “cooperate” frequency rank
- #8,769
- “cooperative” frequency rank
- 18492
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cooperate | cooperative |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To work or act together, especially for a common purpose or benefit. | Ready to work with another person or in a team; ready to cooperate. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cooperate and cooperative apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
cooperate and cooperative form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18492, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cooperate is recorded at frequency rank #9,723, classified as averb, pronounced /kəʊˈɒp.ə.ɹeɪt/. cooperative is at rank #8,769, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kuˈɑp.ɹətɪv/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 18492, this pair ranks #444,540 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cooperate" and "cooperative" be used interchangeably?
Remembering cooperate vs cooperative
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “cooperate”; for an adjective, it's “cooperative”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cooperate” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable