imaginative
/ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪnətɪv/
"imaginative" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“imaginative” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,047 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #16,047
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Having a lively or creative imagination.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | imaginative |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪnətɪv/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #16,047 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “imaginative” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for imaginative is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪnətɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,047 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for imaginative, with forms such as "iamginative", "imagginative", and "imagiantive". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "imagination", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ymagynatif, from Middle French imaginatif, from Medieval Latin imāginātīvus. By surface analysis, imagine + -ative. The correct English form is imaginative, spelled I-M-A-G-I-N-A-T-I-V-E.
Definition
- 1Having a lively or creative imagination.
- 2Tending to be fanciful or inventive.
- 3False or imagined.
Etymology
From Middle English ymagynatif, from Middle French imaginatif, from Medieval Latin imāginātīvus. By surface analysis, imagine + -ative.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: iamginative,imagginative,imagiantive,imaginaitve,imaginatiev,imaginativve,imaginattive,imaginatvie,imaginnative,imagintaive,imagniative,imaignative,imgainative,immaginative,miaginative
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of imaginative - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "imaginative"?
What does "imaginative" mean?
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Using “imaginative”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-M-A-G-I-N-A-T-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪnətɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “imagination” - see the side-by-side comparison. imaginative vs imagination
- 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.