additive

/ˈæd.ɪ.tɪv/

//ˈæd.ɪ.tɪv// adj

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

"additive" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“additive” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,746. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,746
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Pertaining to addition; that can be, or has been, added.

Corpus desk

Index EN-additive · additive · English

additive · rank #18,746 · 9 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,746
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH achieves

Nearest frequency peer: achieves (-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 “additive”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “additive” 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).

additive vs adoptive
75% similar
additive vs addition
75% similar
additive vs adaptive
75% similar

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

Key facts for additive
PropertyValue
Headwordadditive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈæd.ɪ.tɪv/
Letters8
Frequency rank#18,746
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “additive”

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).additivelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “achieves” (#18,745), “adept” (#18,747), “advantageous” (#18,748). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “additive” is #18,746. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around additive (IPA /ˈæd.ɪ.tɪv/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #18,746 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for additive, with forms such as "addiitve", "additiev", and "additivve". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "adoptive", "addition", "adaptive", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Latin additivus, from the participial stem of Latin addere (“to add”). The correct English form is additive, spelled A-D-D-I-T-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pertaining to addition; that can be, or has been, added.
  2. 2
    That is distributive over addition.
  3. 3
    Whose operator is identified as addition.
  4. 4
    Pertaining to chemical addition.
  5. 5
    Of or pertaining to genes (or the interaction etc. of such genes) which govern the same trait and whose effects work together on the phenotype.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Matrix multiplication is additive, in that M#92;vecv#43;M#92;vecw#61;M(#92;vecv#43;#92;vecw).
  2. It is natural to look at a finite cyclic group as an additive group.

Etymology

From Late Latin additivus, from the participial stem of Latin addere (“to add”).

This word in other languages

additif(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • addiitve
  • additiev
  • additivve
  • addittive
  • additvie
  • addtiive
  • adidtive
  • aditive
  • daditive

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of additive - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

addiitve2additiev2additivve1addittive1additvie2addtiive2adidtive2aditive1
Edit distance from "additive"

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 "additive"?
"additive" is spelled A-D-D-I-T-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæd.ɪ.tɪv/.
What does "additive" mean?
As an adjective, "additive" means: Pertaining to addition; that can be, or has been, added.
What words are commonly confused with "additive"?
"additive" is commonly confused with "adoptive", "addition", "adaptive". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "additive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "additive" is /ˈæd.ɪ.tɪv/. 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 "additive"?
From Late Latin additivus, from the participial stem of Latin addere (“to add”). 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 "additive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

achieves#18,745vigilant#18,730blooming#18,768bookings#18,772

Similar misspelling depth

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

washer9 variantsblooms9 variantsTyrone9 variantsbullpen9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list