# reflection vs reflective

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### reflection
*noun · IPA /ɹɪˈflɛkʃən/ · frequency rank #5,447*
The act of reflecting or the state of being reflected.

### reflective
*adjective · IPA /ɹɪˈflɛktɪv/ · frequency rank #13,407*
That reflects, or redirects back to the source.

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