adhesive

/ədˈhiː.sɪv/

//ədˈhiː.sɪv// adj

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

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

The verdict

“adhesive” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,751. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,751
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sticky; tenacious, as glutinous substances.

Corpus desk

Index EN-adhesive · adhesive · English

adhesive · rank #17,751 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #17,751
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH ACL

Nearest frequency peer: ACL (-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 “adhesive”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “adhesive” 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).

adhesive vs adhesion
75% similar

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

Key facts for adhesive
PropertyValue
Headwordadhesive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ədˈhiː.sɪv/
Letters8
Frequency rank#17,751
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “adhesive”

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).adhesivelands 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 “ACL” (#17,750), “Adolf” (#17,752), “zhou” (#17,749). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “adhesive” is #17,751. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around adhesive (IPA /ədˈhiː.sɪv/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #17,751 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for adhesive, with forms such as "addhesive", "adehsive", and "adheisve". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "adhesion", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French adhésif, from Medieval Latin adhaesivus, from adhaereō (supine adhaesum); see adhere. The correct English form is adhesive, spelled A-D-H-E-S-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sticky; tenacious, as glutinous substances.
  2. 2
    Apt or tending to adhere; clinging.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. adhesive material
  2. adhesive tape

Etymology

From French adhésif, from Medieval Latin adhaesivus, from adhaereō (supine adhaesum); see adhere.

Synonyms

claggytenaciousadherentadhesiveagglutinativeclidgyclingsomeclingypuggystickablesticky

Antonyms

nonadhesivenonstickingnonstickyslippery

This word in other languages

adhesivo(Español)adhésif(Français)klebend(Deutsch)aderente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • addhesive
  • adehsive
  • adheisve
  • adhesiev
  • adhesivve
  • adhessive
  • adhesvie
  • adhhesive
  • adhseive
  • ahdesive
  • dahesive

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of adhesive - 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.

addhesive1adehsive2adheisve2adhesiev2adhesivve1adhessive1adhesvie2adhhesive1
Edit distance from "adhesive"

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 "adhesive"?
"adhesive" is spelled A-D-H-E-S-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ədˈhiː.sɪv/.
What does "adhesive" mean?
As an adjective, "adhesive" means: Sticky; tenacious, as glutinous substances.
What words are commonly confused with "adhesive"?
"adhesive" is commonly confused with "adhesion". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "adhesive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "adhesive" is /ədˈhiː.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 "adhesive"?
From French adhésif, from Medieval Latin adhaesivus, from adhaereō (supine adhaesum); see adhere. 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 "adhesive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

affluent#17,754workings#17,747treatise#17,739trapping#17,738

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Tristan11 variantssurrogate11 variantssparkle11 variantsshorten11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list