abusive

/əˈbjuː.sɪv/

//əˈbjuː.sɪv// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"abusive" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“abusive” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,633. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,633
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Prone to treat someone badly by coarse, insulting words or other maltreatment; vituperative; reproachful; scurrilous.

Corpus desk

Index EN-abusive · abusive · English

abusive · rank #8,633 · 9 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,633
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH alley

Nearest frequency peer: alley (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “abusive”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “abusive” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

abusive vs abuse
71% similar
abusive vs abrasive
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for abusive
PropertyValue
Headwordabusive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/əˈbjuː.sɪv/
Letters7
Frequency rank#8,633
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “abusive”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).abusivelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “alley” (#8,634), “Yemen” (#8,631), “yearly” (#8,630). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “abusive” is #8,633. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around abusive (IPA /əˈbjuː.sɪv/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #8,633 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for abusive, with forms such as "abbusive", "absuive", and "abuisve". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "abuse", "abrasive", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in the 1530s. From French abusif, from Latin abūsīvus, from abusus + -ivus (“-ive”). Equivalent to abuse + -ive. The correct English form is abusive, spelled A-B-U-S-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Prone to treat someone badly by coarse, insulting words or other maltreatment; vituperative; reproachful; scurrilous.
  2. 2
    Tending to deceive; fraudulent.
  3. 3
    Tending to misuse; practising or containing abuse.
  4. 4
    Being physically or emotionally injurious; characterized by repeated violence or other abuse.
  5. 5
    Wrongly used; perverted; misapplied; unjust; illegal.
  6. 6
    Catachrestic.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how abusive appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. All they could ever do was to shout abusive inanities at me and my colleagues.
  2. an abusive treaty

Etymology

First attested in the 1530s. From French abusif, from Latin abūsīvus, from abusus + -ivus (“-ive”). Equivalent to abuse + -ive.

Synonyms

reproachfulscurrilousopprobriousinsolentinsultinginjuriousoffensiverevilingberatingvituperative

Antonyms

abuselessnonabusiveunabusive

This word in other languages

abusivo(Español)abusivo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abbusive
  • absuive
  • abuisve
  • abusiev
  • abusivve
  • abussive
  • abusvie
  • aubsive
  • bausive

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of abusive - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

abbusive1absuive2abuisve2abusiev2abusivve1abussive1abusvie2aubsive2
Edit distance from "abusive"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "abusive"?
"abusive" is spelled A-B-U-S-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈbjuː.sɪv/.
What does "abusive" mean?
As an adjective, "abusive" means: Prone to treat someone badly by coarse, insulting words or other maltreatment; vituperative; reproachful; scurrilous.
What words are commonly confused with "abusive"?
"abusive" is commonly confused with "abuse", "abrasive". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "abusive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abusive" is /əˈbjuː.sɪv/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "abusive"?
First attested in the 1530s. From French abusif, from Latin abūsīvus, from abusus + -ivus (“-ive”). Equivalent to abuse + -ive. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "abusive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Beverly#8,639whistle#8,626villain#8,624terrace#8,617

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

yearly9 variantsappetite9 variantsblades9 variantsverify9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list