provocative

/pɹəˈvɒk.ə.tɪv/

//pɹəˈvɒk.ə.tɪv// adj

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

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

The verdict

“provocative” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,314. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,314
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Serving or tending to elicit a strong, often negative sentiment in another person; exasperating.

Corpus desk

Index EN-provocative · provocative · English

provocative · rank #16,314 · 16 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #16,314
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH PU

Nearest frequency peer: PU (+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 “provocative”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “provocative” 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).

provocative vs provocation
82% similar

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

Key facts for provocative
PropertyValue
Headwordprovocative
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/pɹəˈvɒk.ə.tɪv/
Letters11
Frequency rank#16,314
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “provocative”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).provocativelands 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 “PU” (#16,315), “proclamation” (#16,312), “purposely” (#16,316). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “provocative” is #16,314. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around provocative (IPA /pɹəˈvɒk.ə.tɪv/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #16,314 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for provocative, with forms such as "porvocative", "pprovocative", and "proovcative". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "provocation", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French provocatif, and its source, Late Latin provocativus, from Latin provocare. The correct English form is provocative, spelled P-R-O-V-O-C-A-T-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Serving or tending to elicit a strong, often negative sentiment in another person; exasperating.
  2. 2
    Serving or tending to excite, stimulate or arouse sexual interest; sexy.
  3. 3
    Provoking or triggering any response.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. [I]t is a terrible long and slippery descent, and a shocking bad road. At the bottom, however, there is a pleasant public; whereat we must really take a modest quencher, for the down air is provocative of thirst.
  2. And the ‘wailing noise,’ which had induced the prosaic, indurated London cabman to get twice off his box to see what was the matter, what anguish had been provocative of that?

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French provocatif, and its source, Late Latin provocativus, from Latin provocare.

This word in other languages

provocador(Español)provocateur(Français)provokant(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • porvocative
  • pprovocative
  • proovcative
  • provcoative
  • provoactive
  • provocaitve
  • provocatiev
  • provocativve
  • provocattive
  • provocatvie
  • provoccative
  • provoctaive
  • provvocative
  • prrovocative
  • prvoocative
  • rpovocative

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of provocative - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

porvocative2pprovocative1proovcative2provcoative2provoactive2provocaitve2provocatiev2provocativve1
Edit distance from "provocative"

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 "provocative"?
"provocative" is spelled P-R-O-V-O-C-A-T-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹəˈvɒk.ə.tɪv/.
What does "provocative" mean?
As an adjective, "provocative" means: Serving or tending to elicit a strong, often negative sentiment in another person; exasperating.
What words are commonly confused with "provocative"?
"provocative" is commonly confused with "provocation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "provocative"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "provocative" is /pɹəˈvɒk.ə.tɪv/. 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 "provocative"?
Borrowed from Middle French provocatif, and its source, Late Latin provocativus, from Latin provocare. 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 "provocative", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

preparatory#16,310Rockefeller#16,333occupations#16,287intimidated#16,257

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

questionnaire16 variantspreferable16 variantsinvincible16 variantsinsistence16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list