dispersive

adj

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

The verdict

“dispersive” is uncommon English (frequency #69,001 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#69,001
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - That becomes dispersed

Corpus desk

Index EN-dispersive · dispersive · English

dispersive · rank #69,001 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #69,001
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH disentangle

Nearest frequency peer: disentangle (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “dispersive”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “dispersive” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for dispersive
PropertyValue
Headworddispersive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters10
Frequency rank#69,001
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “dispersive” in English

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “disentangle” (#69,000), “divestiture” (#69,002), “disbelieving” (#68,999). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dispersive” is #69,001. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

dispersive is uncommon English at frequency #69,001 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for dispersive, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From disperse + -ive. The correct English form is dispersive, spelled D-I-S-P-E-R-S-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    That becomes dispersed
  2. 2
    That causes dispersion

Etymology

From disperse + -ive.

This word in other languages

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 "dispersive"?
"dispersive" is spelled D-I-S-P-E-R-S-I-V-E.
What does "dispersive" mean?
As an adjective, "dispersive" means: That becomes dispersed
What is the origin of the word "dispersive"?
From disperse + -ive. 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 "dispersive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list