determinative

noun

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

"determinative" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“determinative” is uncommon English (frequency #80,379 among 26,416 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#80,379
frequency rank, English
26,416
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts.

Key facts for determinative
PropertyValue
Headworddeterminative
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters13
Frequency rank#80,379
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “determinative” 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). determinative lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

determinative is uncommon English at frequency #80,379 among 26,416 “D” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for determinative, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French déterminatif. The correct English form is determinative, spelled D-E-T-E-R-M-I-N-A-T-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts.
  2. 2
    A member of a class of words functioning in a noun phrase to identify or distinguish a referent without describing or modifying it.

Etymology

From Middle French déterminatif.

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 "determinative"?
"determinative" is spelled D-E-T-E-R-M-I-N-A-T-I-V-E.
What does "determinative" mean?
As a noun, "determinative" means: An ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts.
What is the origin of the word "determinative"?
From Middle French déterminatif. 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 “determinative”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is D-E-T-E-R-M-I-N-A-T-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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