locative

/ˈlɒk.ə.tɪv/

//ˈlɒk.ə.tɪv// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"locative" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“locative” is uncommon English (frequency #78,788 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,788
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Indicating place, or the place where, or wherein.

Corpus desk

Index EN-locative · locative · English

locative · rank #78,788 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #78,788
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Lipinski

Nearest frequency peer: Lipinski (-2 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.

Long-tail ranks near “locative”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “locative” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for locative
PropertyValue
Headwordlocative
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈlɒk.ə.tɪv/
Letters8
Frequency rank#78,788
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “locative” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).locativefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Lipinski” (#78,786), “lovat” (#78,791), “lowing” (#78,792). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “locative” is #78,788. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

locative is uncommon English at frequency #78,788 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈlɒk.ə.tɪv/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Indicating place, or the place where, or wherein.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for locative, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin locātīvus, from locus. In Indian English, by surface analysis, locate + -ive. The correct English form is locative, spelled L-O-C-A-T-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Indicating place, or the place where, or wherein.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how locative appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. a locative adjective
  2. the locative case of a noun

Etymology

From Latin locātīvus, from locus. In Indian English, by surface analysis, locate + -ive.

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 "locative"?
"locative" is spelled L-O-C-A-T-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɒk.ə.tɪv/.
What does "locative" mean?
As an adjective, "locative" means: Indicating place, or the place where, or wherein.
How do you pronounce "locative"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "locative" is /ˈlɒk.ə.tɪv/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "locative"?
From Latin locātīvus, from locus. In Indian English, by surface analysis, locate + -ive. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "locative", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Lipinski#78,786mailroom#78,803massless#78,809Jabalpur#78,730

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list