Which to use
“response” is a noun and “responsive” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,000
- “response” frequency rank
- #11,280
- “responsive” frequency rank
- 12280
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | response | responsive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An answer or reply, or something in the nature of an answer or reply. | Answering, replying or responding |
Where the eye mixes response and responsive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses response with responsive
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: response is /ɹɪˈspɒns/ while responsive is /ɹɪˈspɒn.sɪv/. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12280, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
response is recorded at frequency rank #1,000, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈspɒns/. responsive is at rank #11,280, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɹɪˈspɒn.sɪv/.
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 12280, this pair ranks #482,447 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of response vs responsive
Shared letters: enoprs. Private to "response": -. Private to "responsive": iv.
"response" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "responsive" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- response ← ersponse · repsonse · resopnse · respnose · respones · responnse · responsse · resposne
- responsive ← ersponsive · repsonsive · resopnsive · respnosive · responisve · responnsive · responsiev · responsivve
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "response" and "responsive" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "response" or "responsive" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "response" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "responsive" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #482,447 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "response" and "responsive" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "repose vs response". 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 #482,447 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.