imperative mood

noun

"imperative-mood" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“imperative mood” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The grammatical mood generally expressing a command, though also used to express a request or permission.

Key facts for imperative mood
PropertyValue
Headwordimperative mood
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “imperative mood” sits in English frequency

imperative mood falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

imperative mood is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The grammatical mood generally expressing a command, though also used to express a request or permission.".

No misspelling variants are generated for imperative mood in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is imperative mood, spelled I-M-P-E-R-A-T-I-V-E- -M-O-O-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    The grammatical mood generally expressing a command, though also used to express a request or permission.

Synonyms

imperativeimperative mode

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "imperative mood"?
"imperative mood" is spelled I-M-P-E-R-A-T-I-V-E- -M-O-O-D.
What does "imperative mood" mean?
As a noun, "imperative mood" means: The grammatical mood generally expressing a command, though also used to express a request or permission.
What language does "imperative mood" come from?
"imperative mood" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “imperative mood”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is I-M-P-E-R-A-T-I-V-E- -M-O-O-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list