percussive
per·cuss·ive/pɚˈkʌsɪv/adjective, noun
percussive is spelled P-E-R-C-U-S-S-I-V-E: 10 letters and 3 syllables (per·cuss·ive). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,073rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, percussive means “Characterized by percussion; caused by or related to the action of striking or pounding something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in percussive?
| Letters | 10: P-E-R-C-U-S-S-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: per·cuss·ive |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 47,073rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is percussive?
Percussive appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,073rd 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 percussive?
- UK /pəˈkʌsɪv/
- US /pɚˈkʌsɪv/
Percussive has 3 syllables, split per·cuss·ive in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-percussive.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of percussive
- more percussive comparative
- most percussive superlative
- percussives plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does percussive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Characterized by percussion; caused by or related to the action of striking or pounding something.
He massaged her shoulders with a gentle percussive action.
- 2
Produced by striking organs together, for example, smacking the lips or gnashing the teeth.
noun
- 1
A percussive phone.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Percussive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 percussive come from?
From percuss + -ive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).