obsessive
/əbˈsɛs.ɪv/
"obsessive" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“obsessive” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,548 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #16,548
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Prone to cause obsession.
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 | obsessive |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /əbˈsɛs.ɪv/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #16,548 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “obsessive” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for obsessive is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əbˈsɛs.ɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,548 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for obsessive, with forms such as "bosessive", "obbsessive", and "obesssive". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "obsessively", "obsession", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From obsess + -ive. The correct English form is obsessive, spelled O-B-S-E-S-S-I-V-E.
Definition
- 1Prone to cause obsession.
- 2Having one thought or pursuing one activity to the absolute or nearly absolute exclusion of all others.
- 3Excessive, as results from obsession.
Etymology
From obsess + -ive.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: bosessive,obbsessive,obesssive,obsesisve,obsesive,obsessiev,obsessivve,obsessvie,obssesive,obssessive,osbessive
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of obsessive - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "obsessive"?
What does "obsessive" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "obsessive"?
How do you pronounce "obsessive"?
What is the origin of the word "obsessive"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “obsessive”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-B-S-E-S-S-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əbˈsɛs.ɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “obsessively” - see the side-by-side comparison. obsessive vs obsessively
- 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.