Which to use
“reception” is a noun and “receptive” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,885
- “reception” frequency rank
- #19,183
- “receptive” frequency rank
- 24068
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reception | receptive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The act of receiving. | Capable of receiving something. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set reception and receptive apart are highlighted. They share 7 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: reception is /ɹɪˈsɛp.ʃn̩/ while receptive is /ɹɪˈsɛptɪv/. 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 24068, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reception is recorded at frequency rank #4,885, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈsɛp.ʃn̩/. 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 24068, this pair ranks #404,726 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of reception vs receptive
Shared letters: ceiprt. Private to "reception": no. Private to "receptive": v.
"reception" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC · "receptive" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "reception" and "receptive" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "reception" or "receptive"?
Remembering reception vs receptive
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “reception”; for an adjective, it's “receptive”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “reception” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable