fricative
/ˈfɹɪkətɪv/noun, adjective
fricative is spelled F-R-I-C-A-T-I-V-E: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 88,353rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, fricative means “Any of several speech sounds produced by air flowing through a constriction in the oral cavity and typically producing a sibilant, hissing, or…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of fricative is fricatives.
How many letters and syllables are in fricative?
| Letters | 9: F-R-I-C-A-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 88,353rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| 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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is fricative?
Fricative appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 88,353rd 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 fricative?
- UK /ˈfɹɪkətɪv/
- US /ˈfɹɪkətɪv/
- US [ˈfɹɪkəɾɪv]
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-fricative.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with fricative?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as fricative from its last stressed vowel (/ɪkətɪv/):
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 fricative
- fricatives plural
- more fricative comparative
- most fricative superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does fricative mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of several speech sounds produced by air flowing through a constriction in the oral cavity and typically producing a sibilant, hissing, or buzzing quality; a fricative consonant.
adjective
- 1
produced by air flowing through a restriction in the oral cavity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fricative in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fricative , fricatif |
| German | Frikativ, Reibelaut , frikativ |
| Portuguese | fricativa , fricativo |
| Spanish | fricativa , fricativo |
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 fricative come from?
From New Latin fricatīvus, from Latin fricāre (“to rub”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).