qualitative
qual·i·ta·tive/ˈkwɑ.ləˌteɪ.tɪv/adjective, noun
qualitative is spelled Q-U-A-L-I-T-A-T-I-V-E: 11 letters and 4 syllables (qual·i·ta·tive). It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, qualitative means “Of descriptions or distinctions based on some quality rather than on some quantity” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in qualitative?
| Letters | 11: Q-U-A-L-I-T-A-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: qual·i·ta·tive |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,005th 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 qualitative?
Qualitative appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th 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 qualitative?
- UK /ˈkwɒl.ɪ.tə.tɪv/
- US /ˈkwɑ.ləˌteɪ.tɪv/
- US [ˈkwɑ.ləˌteɪ.ɾɪv]
Qualitative has 4 syllables, split qual·i·ta·tive in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-qualitative.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of qualitative
- more qualitative comparative
- most qualitative superlative
- qualitatives plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does qualitative mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of descriptions or distinctions based on some quality rather than on some quantity.
Near-synonyms: nonquantitative, unquantitative
- 2
Of a form of analysis that yields the identity of a compound.
- 3
high-quality
noun
- 1
Something qualitative.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate qualitative?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of qualitative: qual.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Qualitative in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of descriptions or distinctions based on some quality rather than on some quanti:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | qualitatif |
| German | qualitativ |
| Portuguese | qualitativo |
| Spanish | cualitativo |
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 qualitative come from?
From Late Latin (or Medieval Latin) quālitātīvus. Equivalent to quality + -ative.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).