# recursion vs recursive

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### recursion
*noun · IPA /ɹɪˈkɜː(ɹ)ʒən/ · frequency rank #44,443*
The act of recurring.

### recursive
*adjective · IPA /ɹɪˈkɜː(ɹ)sɪv/ · frequency rank #32,997*
drawing upon itself, referring back.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recursion-vs-recursive