intransitive
/ɪnˈtɹænsətɪv/
"intransitive" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“intransitive” is uncommon English (frequency #65,214 among 17,902 “I” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #65,214
- frequency rank, English
- 17,902
- “I” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Not transitive: not having, or not taking, a direct object.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | intransitive |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɪnˈtɹænsətɪv/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #65,214 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “intransitive” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
intransitive is uncommon English at frequency #65,214 among 17,902 “I” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ɪnˈtɹænsətɪv/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for intransitive in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From in- + transitive. The correct English form is intransitive, spelled I-N-T-R-A-N-S-I-T-I-V-E.
Definition
- 1Not transitive: not having, or not taking, a direct object.
- 2Not transitive or passing further; kept; detained.
- 3Of a set of dice: containing three dice A, B, and C, with the property that A rolls higher than B more than half the time, and B rolls higher than C more than half the time, but lacking the property that A rolls higher than C more than half the time. See intransitive dice and intransitive game.
Etymology
From in- + transitive.
Synonyms
Antonyms
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
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Using “intransitive”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-T-R-A-N-S-I-T-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪnˈtɹænsətɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.