Which to use
“divisible” and “divisive” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,103
- “divisible” frequency rank
- #18,544
- “divisive” frequency rank
- 60647
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | divisible | divisive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Capable of being divided or split. | Having a quality that divides or separates. |
Where the eye mixes divisible and divisive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: divisible vs divisive
A purely visual mix-up. divisible ([dɪˈvɪzɪbəɫ]) and divisive (/dɪˈvaɪsɪv/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60647, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
divisible is recorded at frequency rank #42,103, classified as anadj, pronounced [dɪˈvɪzɪbəɫ]. divisive is at rank #18,544, tagged as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈvaɪsɪv/.
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 60647, this pair ranks #98,992 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of divisible vs divisive
Shared letters: deisv. Private to "divisible": bl. Private to "divisive": -.
"divisible" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV · "divisive" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "divisible" and "divisive" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "divisible" or "divisive" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "divisible" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "divisive" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #98,992 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "divisible" and "divisive" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decisive vs divisive". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #98,992 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.