instructive
/ɪnˈstɹʌktɪv/
"instructive" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“instructive” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #29,694 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #29,694
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
- 17
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Conveying knowledge, information or instruction.
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 | instructive |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɪnˈstɹʌktɪv/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #29,694 |
| Misspellings tracked | 17 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “instructive” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for instructive is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪnˈstɹʌktɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #29,694 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Conveying knowledge, information or instruction.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for instructive, with forms such as "innstructive", "insrtuctive", and "insstructive". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "instruction", "instinctive", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From instruct + -ive. The correct English form is instructive, spelled I-N-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-V-E.
Definition
- 1Conveying knowledge, information or instruction.
Etymology
From instruct + -ive.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: innstructive,insrtuctive,insstructive,instrcutive,instrructive,instrucctive,instrucitve,instructiev,instructivve,instructtive,instructvie,instrutcive,insttructive,insturctive,intsructive,isntructive,nistructive
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of instructive - 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
How do you spell "instructive"?
What does "instructive" mean?
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Using “instructive”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪnˈstɹʌktɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “instruction” - see the side-by-side comparison. instructive vs instruction
- 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.