Which to use
“receive” is a verb and “receptive” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,496
- “receive” frequency rank
- #19,183
- “receptive” frequency rank
- 20679
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | receive | receptive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To be given, sent, or paid something. | Capable of receiving something. |
Where the eye mixes receive and receptive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: receive is /ɹɪˈsiːv/ while receptive is /ɹɪˈsɛptɪv/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20679, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
receive is recorded at frequency rank #1,496, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈsiːv/. receptive is at rank #19,183, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɹɪˈsɛptɪv/.
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 20679, this pair ranks #429,464 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of receive vs receptive
Shared letters: ceirv. Private to "receive": -. Private to "receptive": pt.
"receive" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV · "receptive" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV