incisive
/ɪnˈsaɪ.sɪv/
"incisive" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“incisive” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,901. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #38,901
- frequency rank, English
- 2,140
- “I” headwords
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Intelligently analytical and concise. (of a person or mental process)
Corpus desk
Index EN-incisive · incisive · English
incisive · rank #38,901 · 11 variants · 4 confusables
- FREQ-MID #38,901
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
- VAR-MID 11 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,140
- PHOTO-FINISH inbreeding
Nearest frequency peer: inbreeding (-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.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “incisive”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- immunothera…
immunotherapy
61,103 corpus weight
- improvising
improvising
61,102 corpus weight
- inbreeding
inbreeding
61,101 corpus weight
- incisive
incisive
61,100 corpus weight
- inconspicuo…
inconspicuous
61,099 corpus weight
- indebtedness
indebtedness
61,098 corpus weight
What this shows “incisive” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
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 | incisive |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɪnˈsaɪ.sɪv/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #38,901 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “incisive”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 11 spelling variants around incisive (IPA /ɪnˈsaɪ.sɪv/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #38,901 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for incisive, with forms such as "icnisive", "inccisive", and "inciisve". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "invasive", "inclusive", "indecisive", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Late Middle English (in the sense “cutting, penetrating”), borrowed from Medieval Latin incīsīvus, from incīdō (“to cut in, cut through”) + -īvus (“-ive”, adjectival suffix). Compare Middle French incisif. The correct English form is incisive, spelled I-N-C-I-S-I-V-E.
Definition
- 1Intelligently analytical and concise. (of a person or mental process)
- 2Intelligently analytical and concise. (of a person or mental process)
- 3Quickly proceeding to judgment and forceful in expression. (of an action)
- 4Having the quality of incising, cutting, or penetrating, as with a sharp instrument; trenchant.
- 5Of or relating to the incisors.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how incisive appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
An incisive producer, who expressed vehement disapproval with my pitch upon my first sentence.
She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry. His wooing had been brief but incisive.
Etymology
Late Middle English (in the sense “cutting, penetrating”), borrowed from Medieval Latin incīsīvus, from incīdō (“to cut in, cut through”) + -īvus (“-ive”, adjectival suffix). Compare Middle French incisif.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- icnisive
- inccisive
- inciisve
- incisiev
- incisivve
- incissive
- incisvie
- incsiive
- inicsive
- inncisive
- nicisive
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of incisive - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "incisive", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).