adaptive
/əˈdæp.tɪv/
"adaptive" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“adaptive” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #12,721 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #12,721
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of, pertaining to, characterized by or showing adaptation; making or made fit or suitable.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | adaptive |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /əˈdæp.tɪv/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #12,721 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “adaptive” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for adaptive is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈdæp.tɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #12,721 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for adaptive, with forms such as "aadptive", "adapitve", and "adapptive". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "additive", "adoptive", "adaption", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From adapt + -ive. The correct English form is adaptive, spelled A-D-A-P-T-I-V-E.
Definition
- 1Of, pertaining to, characterized by or showing adaptation; making or made fit or suitable.
- 2Capable of being adapted or of adapting; susceptible of or undergoing accordant change.
- 3Of a trait: that helps an organism to function well in its environment.
- 4Of a trait: that helps a person to function well in society.
Etymology
From adapt + -ive.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: aadptive,adapitve,adapptive,adaptiev,adaptivve,adapttive,adaptvie,adatpive,addaptive,adpative,daaptive
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of adaptive - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “adaptive”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-D-A-P-T-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əˈdæp.tɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “additive” - see the side-by-side comparison. adaptive vs additive
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.