impulsivity

noun

"impulsivity" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“impulsivity” is uncommon English (frequency #62,215 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,215
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The quality of being impulsive, impulsiveness; inclination to act on impulse rather than thought.

Corpus desk

Index EN-impulsivity · impulsivity · English

impulsivity · rank #62,215 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #62,215
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH imperiled

Nearest frequency peer: imperiled (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “impulsivity”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “impulsivity” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for impulsivity
PropertyValue
Headwordimpulsivity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Frequency rank#62,215
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “impulsivity” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).impulsivityfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “imperiled” (#62,214), “impel” (#62,213), “incapacitate” (#62,217). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “impulsivity” is #62,215. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

impulsivity is uncommon English at frequency #62,215 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The quality of being impulsive, impulsiveness; inclination to act on impulse rather than thought.".

Zero misspellings are on record for impulsivity in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From impulsive + -ity. The correct English form is impulsivity, spelled I-M-P-U-L-S-I-V-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The quality of being impulsive, impulsiveness; inclination to act on impulse rather than thought.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how impulsivity appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. In reliable environments, waiting to eat a second marshmallow is likely to be beneficial. However, in environments in which rewards are uncertain, such as when experimenters are unreliable, eating the single marshmallow right away may be beneficial. Thus, impulsivity can be understood as an adaptive response to the contingencies present in an unstable env…

Etymology

From impulsive + -ity.

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

How do you spell "impulsivity"?
"impulsivity" is spelled I-M-P-U-L-S-I-V-I-T-Y.
What does "impulsivity" mean?
As a noun, "impulsivity" means: The quality of being impulsive, impulsiveness; inclination to act on impulse rather than thought.
What is the origin of the word "impulsivity"?
From impulsive + -ity. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "impulsivity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list