investigative
/ɪnˈvɛstɪɡətɪv/adjective
investigative is spelled I-N-V-E-S-T-I-G-A-T-I-V-E: 13 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 4.8 times per million words in written English, the 11,541st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, investigative means “Of or pertaining to investigation or an investigation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in investigative?
| Letters | 13: I-N-V-E-S-T-I-G-A-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.8 times per million words; the 11,541st 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 investigative?
Investigative appears 4.8 times per million words in written English, the 11,541st 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 investigative?
- /ɪnˈvɛstɪɡətɪv/
- /ɪnˈvɛstɪɡeɪtɪv/
Investigative has 5 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-investigative.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does investigative mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to investigation or an investigation.
- 2
Inquisitive; curious.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Investigative in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense pertaining to investigation:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | investigativ |
| Portuguese | investigativo |
| Spanish | investigativo |
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 investigative come from?
From investigate + -ive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).