administrative

/ədˈmɪn.ɪ.stɹə.tɪv/

//ədˈmɪn.ɪ.stɹə.tɪv// adj

"administrative" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“administrative” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,274 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#3,274
frequency rank, English
14
letters
21
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of or relating to administering or administration.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

administrative vs administratively
88% similar
administrative vs administration
86% similar

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

Key facts for administrative
PropertyValue
Headwordadministrative
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ədˈmɪn.ɪ.stɹə.tɪv/
Letters14
Frequency rank#3,274
Misspellings tracked21
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “administrative” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). administrative lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for administrative is 14 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ədˈmɪn.ɪ.stɹə.tɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,274 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Of or relating to administering or administration.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 21 likely wrong-spelling variants for administrative, with forms such as "addministrative", "adimnistrative", and "admiinstrative". 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, "administratively", "administration", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From administrate + -ive. The correct English form is administrative, spelled A-D-M-I-N-I-S-T-R-A-T-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or relating to administering or administration.

Etymology

From administrate + -ive.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: addministrative,adimnistrative,admiinstrative,adminisrtative,adminisstrative,administartive,administraitve,administratiev,administrativve,administrattive,administratvie,administrrative,administrtaive,administtrative,adminitsrative,adminnistrative,adminsitrative,admministrative,admniistrative,amdinistrative,daministrative

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of administrative - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

addministrative1adimnistrative2admiinstrative2adminisrtative2adminisstrative1administartive2administraitve2administratiev2
Edit distance from "administrative"

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 "administrative"?
"administrative" is spelled A-D-M-I-N-I-S-T-R-A-T-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ədˈmɪn.ɪ.stɹə.tɪv/.
What does "administrative" mean?
As an adjective, "administrative" means: Of or relating to administering or administration.
What words are commonly confused with "administrative"?
"administrative" is commonly confused with "administratively", "administration". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "administrative"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "administrative" is /ədˈmɪn.ɪ.stɹə.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 "administrative"?
From administrate + -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.

Using “administrative”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is A-D-M-I-N-I-S-T-R-A-T-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ədˈmɪn.ɪ.stɹə.tɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “administratively” - see the side-by-side comparison. administrative vs administratively
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list