instructive
/ɪnˈstɹʌktɪv/adjective, noun
instructive is spelled I-N-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-V-E: 11 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, instructive means “Conveying knowledge, information or instruction” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in instructive?
| Letters | 11: I-N-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,649th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is instructive?
Instructive appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th 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 instructive?
- /ɪnˈstɹʌktɪv/
Instructive has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-instructive.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of instructive
- more instructive comparative
- most instructive superlative
- instructives plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does instructive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Conveying knowledge, information or instruction.
Well, that was an instructive lesson.
noun
- 1
A case in the Finnish and Estonian languages. It expresses the means or the instrument used to perform an action.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Instructive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | instructif |
| German | lehrreich, aufschlussreich, belehrend , Instruktiv |
| Spanish | instructivo, aleccionador |
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 instructive come from?
From instruct + -ive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).