attractive
/əˈtɹæktɪv/
"attractive" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“attractive” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,818 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #2,818
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Causing attraction; having the quality of attracting by inherent force.
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 | attractive |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /əˈtɹæktɪv/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #2,818 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “attractive” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for attractive is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈtɹæktɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,818 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for attractive, with forms such as "atractive", "atrtactive", and "attarctive". 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, "attraction", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French attractif, from Late Latin attractīvus, equivalent to attract + -ive. The correct English form is attractive, spelled A-T-T-R-A-C-T-I-V-E.
Definition
- 1Causing attraction; having the quality of attracting by inherent force.
- 2Having the power of charming or alluring by agreeable qualities; enticing.
- 3Pleasing or appealing to the senses, especially of a potential romantic partner.
Etymology
From Middle French attractif, from Late Latin attractīvus, equivalent to attract + -ive.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: atractive,atrtactive,attarctive,attracctive,attracitve,attractiev,attractivve,attracttive,attractvie,attratcive,attrcative,attrractive,tatractive
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of attractive - 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.
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 “attractive”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-T-T-R-A-C-T-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əˈtɹæktɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “attraction” - see the side-by-side comparison. attractive vs attraction
- 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.