comparative
com·par·a·tive/kəmˈpæɹətɪv/adjective, noun
comparative is spelled C-O-M-P-A-R-A-T-I-V-E, 4 syllables: com·par·a·tive. The wrong spelling people search most is comparitive: about 90 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 10 of all searches for the word. Comparative is an adjective meaning “Of or relating to comparison”.
How many letters and syllables are in comparative?
| Letters | 11: C-O-M-P-A-R-A-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: com·par·a·tive |
| In writing | 5.9 times per million words; the 10,028th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, comparitive, about 90 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell comparative?
Comparative is spelled C-O-M-P-A-R-A-T-I-V-E. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 10 of the searches for comparative in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is comparative?
Comparative appears 5.9 times per million words in written English, the 10,028th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce comparative?
- UK /kəmˈpæɹətɪv/
- /kəmˈpæɹətɪv/
- /kəmˈpɛɹətɪv/
Comparative has 4 syllables, split com·par·a·tive in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ne-comparative.ogg, En-us-comparative.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with comparative?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as comparative from its last stressed vowel (/æɹətɪv/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of comparative
- more comparative comparative
- most comparative superlative
- comparatives plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does comparative mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or relating to comparison.
He gave us a comparative example to illustrate how the human mind works.
- 2
Using comparison as a method of study, or founded on something using it.
A comparative study between Homo Sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis.
- 3
Approximated by comparison; relative.
I've passed the test with comparative ease.
- 4
obsoleteComparable; bearing comparison.
noun
- 1
The degree of comparison of an adjective or adverb used when comparing two entities in terms of a certain property or a certain way of doing something. In English, the comparative of superiority is formed by adding the suffix -er or the word more (e.g. bigger, more fully); the comparative of equality, by adding the word as (e.g. as big, as fully); the comparative of inferiority, by adding the word
- 2
An adjective or adverb in the comparative degree.
- 3
Data used to make a comparison.
- 4
obsoleteAn equal; a rival; a compeer.
- 5
obsoleteOne who makes comparisons; one who affects wit.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate comparative?
Wiktionary records 3 abbreviations of comparative: comp, comp., compar..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Comparative in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | comparatif |
| German | vergleichend , komparativ , verhältnismäßig, relativ , Höherstufe, Mehrstufe |
| Portuguese | comparativo , grau comparativo |
| Spanish | comparativo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.