aggressive

/əˈɡɹɛs.ɪv/

//əˈɡɹɛs.ɪv// adj

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

"aggressive" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“aggressive” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,135. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,135
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Characterized by aggression; highly combative; prone to behave in a way that involves attacking (especially if unjustly) or arguing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-aggressive · aggressive · English

aggressive · rank #4,135 · 11 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,135
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH ads

Nearest frequency peer: ads (-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 “aggressive”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “aggressive” 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).

aggressive vs aggressively
83% similar
aggressive vs aggression
80% similar

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

Key facts for aggressive
PropertyValue
Headwordaggressive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/əˈɡɹɛs.ɪv/
Letters10
Frequency rank#4,135
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “aggressive”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “ads” (#4,134), “Anne” (#4,136), “wooden” (#4,133). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “aggressive” is #4,135. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around aggressive (IPA /əˈɡɹɛs.ɪv/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #4,135 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for aggressive, with forms such as "aggerssive", "aggresisve", and "aggresive". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "aggressively", "aggression", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From aggress + -ive. Compare with French agressif. The correct English form is aggressive, spelled A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Characterized by aggression; highly combative; prone to behave in a way that involves attacking (especially if unjustly) or arguing.
  2. 2
    Exploiting every opportunity to be applied.
  3. 3
    That spreads quickly or extensively; virulent; malignant.
  4. 4
    Involving high risk for potentially high reward.
  5. 5
    Female but having a male or masculine gender presentation; butch.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. an aggressive policy, war, person, nation
  2. When a new aggressive fish is added to an aquarium with an already-established, territorial fish, the established fish will probably fight to protect its territory (the whole tank).

Etymology

From aggress + -ive. Compare with French agressif.

Antonyms

passive

This word in other languages

agresivo(Español)agressif(Français)aggressiv(Deutsch)agressivo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aggerssive
  • aggresisve
  • aggresive
  • aggressiev
  • aggressivve
  • aggressvie
  • aggrressive
  • aggrsesive
  • agressive
  • agrgessive
  • gagressive

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

aggerssive2aggresisve2aggresive1aggressiev2aggressivve1aggressvie2aggrressive1aggrsesive2
Edit distance from "aggressive"

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 "aggressive"?
"aggressive" is spelled A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈɡɹɛs.ɪv/.
What does "aggressive" mean?
As an adjective, "aggressive" means: Characterized by aggression; highly combative; prone to behave in a way that involves attacking (especially if unjustly) or arguing.
What words are commonly confused with "aggressive"?
"aggressive" is commonly confused with "aggressively", "aggression". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "aggressive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "aggressive" is /əˈɡɹɛs.ɪv/. 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 "aggressive"?
From aggress + -ive. Compare with French agressif. 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 "aggressive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

struggling#4,125encouraged#4,154remembered#4,113innovation#4,165

Similar misspelling depth

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

satellite11 variantsfaculty11 variantsfighter11 variantspretend11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list