Which to use
“inquisition” is a noun and “inquisitive” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,348
- “inquisition” frequency rank
- #29,693
- “inquisitive” frequency rank
- 48041
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | inquisition | inquisitive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An inquiry or investigation into the truth of some matter. | Eager to acquire knowledge; acquisitive. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set inquisition and inquisitive apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: inquisition is /ˌɪŋkwɪˈzɪʃən/ while inquisitive is /ɪŋˈkwɪzətɪv/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48041, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
inquisition is recorded at frequency rank #18,348, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˌɪŋkwɪˈzɪʃən/. inquisitive is at rank #29,693, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɪŋˈkwɪzətɪv/.
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 48041, this pair ranks #196,884 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of inquisition vs inquisitive
Shared letters: inqstu. Private to "inquisition": o. Private to "inquisitive": ev.
"inquisition" · 11 letters · shape VCCVVCVCVVC · "inquisitive" · 11 letters · shape VCCVVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- inquisition ← innquisition · inqiusition · inqquisition · inquiistion · inquisiiton · inquisision · inquisitino · inquisitionn
- inquisitive ← innquisitive · inqiusitive · inqquisitive · inquiistive · inquisiitve · inquisitiev · inquisitivve · inquisittive
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "inquisition" and "inquisitive" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "inquisition" or "inquisitive"?
Remembering inquisition vs inquisitive
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “inquisition”; for an adjective, it's “inquisitive”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “inquisition” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable