expansive
/ɪkˈspænsɪv/adjective
expansive is spelled E-X-P-A-N-S-I-V-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, expansive means “Comprehensive in scope or extent” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in expansive?
| Letters | 9: E-X-P-A-N-S-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.4 times per million words; the 17,587th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is expansive?
Expansive appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th 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 expansive?
- /ɪkˈspænsɪv/
- British /ɪkˈspansɪv/
Expansive has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-expansive.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of expansive
- more expansive comparative
- most expansive superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does expansive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Comprehensive in scope or extent.
expansive research work
- 2
Talkative and sociable.
- 3
Able to be expanded.
- 4
Exhibiting expansivity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Expansive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | umfangreich, umfassend , gesprächig, gesellig, herzlich, beredt |
| Spanish | expansivo , expandiente |
| Portuguese | expansivo |
| French | expansible |
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.
Where does expansive come from?
From Latin expāns-, past-participle stem of expandere (“to spread out”; see expand) + -ive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).