progressive
/pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/
"progressive" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“progressive” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,039 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #4,039
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Favouring or promoting progress; advanced.
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 | progressive |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #4,039 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “progressive” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for progressive is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,039 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for progressive, with forms such as "porgressive", "pprogressive", and "prgoressive". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "progressively", "progression", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the Middle French progressif, from the Latin prōgressīvus, from prōgredior (perfect participial stem: prōgress-) + -īvus. Displaced native Old English forþgenġe. By surface analysis, progress + -ive. The correct English form is progressive, spelled P-R-O-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E.
Definition
- 1Favouring or promoting progress; advanced.
- 2Gradually advancing in extent; increasing.
- 3Promoting or favoring progress towards improved conditions or new policies, ideas, or methods.
- 4Liberal.
- 5Of or relating to progressive education.
- 6Increasing in rate as the taxable amount increases.
- 7Advancing in severity.
- 8Continuous.
Etymology
From the Middle French progressif, from the Latin prōgressīvus, from prōgredior (perfect participial stem: prōgress-) + -īvus. Displaced native Old English forþgenġe. By surface analysis, progress + -ive.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: porgressive,pprogressive,prgoressive,progerssive,proggressive,progresisve,progresive,progressiev,progressivve,progressvie,progrressive,progrsesive,prorgessive,prrogressive,rpogressive
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of progressive - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "progressive"?
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Using “progressive”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-O-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “progressively” - see the side-by-side comparison. progressive vs progressively
- 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.