progressive

/pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/

//pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv// adj

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

"progressive" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“progressive” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,039. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,039
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Favouring or promoting progress; advanced.

Corpus desk

Index EN-progressive · progressive · English

progressive · rank #4,039 · 15 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,039
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH punishment

Nearest frequency peer: punishment (+1 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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “progressive”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “progressive” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

progressive vs progressively
85% similar
progressive vs progression
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for progressive
PropertyValue
Headwordprogressive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/
Letters11
Frequency rank#4,039
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “progressive”

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).progressivelands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “punishment” (#4,040), “principle” (#4,037), “rally” (#4,041). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “progressive” is #4,039. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around progressive (IPA /pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #4,039 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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

  1. 1
    Favouring or promoting progress; advanced.
  2. 2
    Gradually advancing in extent; increasing.
  3. 3
    Promoting or favoring progress towards improved conditions or new policies, ideas, or methods.
  4. 4
    Liberal.
  5. 5
    Of or relating to progressive education.
  6. 6
    Increasing in rate as the taxable amount increases.
  7. 7
    Advancing in severity.
  8. 8
    Continuous.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. a progressive politician
  2. progressive business leadership

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.

Antonyms

regressivenon-progressiveconservativereactionary

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.

porgressive2pprogressive1prgoressive2progerssive2proggressive1progresisve2progresive1progressiev2
Edit distance from "progressive"

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"?
"progressive" is spelled P-R-O-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/.
What does "progressive" mean?
As an adjective, "progressive" means: Favouring or promoting progress; advanced.
What words are commonly confused with "progressive"?
"progressive" is commonly confused with "progressively", "progression". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "progressive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "progressive" is /pɹəˈɡɹɛsɪv/. 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 "progressive"?
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. 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 "progressive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

photographs#4,036composition#4,069fundamental#4,087residential#4,115

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

monitoring15 variantscontribute15 variantselementary15 variantsmechanical15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list