Which to use
“intuition” is a noun and “intuitive” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,146
- “intuition” frequency rank
- #13,543
- “intuitive” frequency rank
- 27689
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intuition | intuitive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Immediate cognition without the use of conscious rational processes. | Spontaneous, without requiring conscious thought. |
Where the eye mixes intuition and intuitive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. intuition (VCCVVCVVC) and intuitive (VCCVVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses intuition with intuitive
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: intuition is /ˌɪn.tjuːˈɪʃ.ən/ while intuitive is /ɪnˈtjuːɪtɪv/. 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 27689, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
intuition is recorded at frequency rank #14,146, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˌɪn.tjuːˈɪʃ.ən/. intuitive is at rank #13,543, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɪnˈtjuːɪtɪv/.
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 27689, this pair ranks #376,911 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of intuition vs intuitive
Shared letters: intu. Private to "intuition": o. Private to "intuitive": ev.
"intuition" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCVVC · "intuitive" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "intuition" and "intuitive" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "intuition" or "intuitive" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "intuition" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "intuitive" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #376,911 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "intuition" and "intuitive" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "inductive vs intuitive". 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 #376,911 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.