collective
/kəˈlɛktɪv/
"collective" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“collective” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,290. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #4,290
- frequency rank, English
- 5,599
- “C” headwords
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 8
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Formed by gathering or collecting; gathered into a mass, sum, or body.
Corpus desk
Index EN-collective · collective · English
collective · rank #4,290 · 13 variants · 8 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #4,290
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
- VAR-HIGH 13 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 5,599
- PHOTO-FINISH cape
Nearest frequency peer: cape (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “collective”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- bow
bow
95,714 corpus weight
- calendar
calendar
95,713 corpus weight
- cape
cape
95,712 corpus weight
- collective
collective
95,711 corpus weight
- cooperation
cooperation
95,709 corpus weight
- craft
craft
95,708 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “collective” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | collective |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /kəˈlɛktɪv/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #4,290 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 8 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “collective” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 13 spelling variants around collective (IPA /kəˈlɛktɪv/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #4,290 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for collective, with forms such as "ccollective", "clolective", and "colective". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "corrective", "connective", "convective", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French collectif, from Latin collēctīvus, from collēctus, past participle of colligō (“I collect”), from com- (“together”) + legō (“I gather”). Compare French collectif. Doublet of colectivo. The correct English form is collective, spelled C-O-L-L-E-C-T-I-V-E.
Definition
- 1Formed by gathering or collecting; gathered into a mass, sum, or body.
- 2Tending to collect; forming a collection.
- 3Having plurality of origin or authority.
- 4Expressing a collection or aggregate of individuals, by a singular form.
- 5Deducing consequences; reasoning; inferring.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how collective appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
the collective body of a nation
Local is his throne […] to fix a point, / A central point, collective of his sons.
Etymology
From Middle French collectif, from Latin collēctīvus, from collēctus, past participle of colligō (“I collect”), from com- (“together”) + legō (“I gather”). Compare French collectif. Doublet of colectivo.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ccollective
- clolective
- colective
- colelctive
- collcetive
- collecctive
- collecitve
- collectiev
- collectivve
- collecttive
- collectvie
- colletcive
- ocllective
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of collective - 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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "collective"?
What does "collective" mean?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "collective", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "collective". Here's where to go from here.
- "collective" maps to 8 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "corrective". View pair
- 13 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #4,290 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.