facultative
/ˈfæ.kəl.tə.tɪv/
"facultative" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“facultative” is an uncommon English word, ranked #81,314 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #81,314
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of or relating to faculty, especially to mental faculty.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | facultative |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈfæ.kəl.tə.tɪv/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #81,314 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “facultative” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for facultative is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfæ.kəl.tə.tɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #81,314 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
facultative doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French facultatif. By surface analysis, faculty + -ative. The correct English form is facultative, spelled F-A-C-U-L-T-A-T-I-V-E.
Definition
- 1Of or relating to faculty, especially to mental faculty.
- 2Not obligate; optional, discretionary or elective.
- 3That grants permission or power to do something.
- 4Able to perform a particular life function, or to live generally, in more than one way.
- 5At which a given function is positive.
Etymology
From French facultatif. By surface analysis, faculty + -ative.
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
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Using “facultative”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-A-C-U-L-T-A-T-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfæ.kəl.tə.tɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.