proliferative

adj

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

"proliferative" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“proliferative” is uncommon English (frequency #66,218 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#66,218
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of or pertaining to proliferation, especially of cells.

Key facts for proliferative
PropertyValue
Headwordproliferative
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters13
Frequency rank#66,218
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “proliferative” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). proliferative lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

proliferative is uncommon English at frequency #66,218 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for proliferative, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From proliferate + -ive. The correct English form is proliferative, spelled P-R-O-L-I-F-E-R-A-T-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to proliferation, especially of cells.
  2. 2
    Proliferating; tending to proliferate.

Etymology

From proliferate + -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 "proliferative"?
"proliferative" is spelled P-R-O-L-I-F-E-R-A-T-I-V-E.
What does "proliferative" mean?
As an adjective, "proliferative" means: Of or pertaining to proliferation, especially of cells.
What is the origin of the word "proliferative"?
From proliferate + -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.

Using “proliferative”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-R-O-L-I-F-E-R-A-T-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list