reactance

noun

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

"reactance" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“reactance” is uncommon English (frequency #84,658 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#84,658
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The opposition to the change in flow of current in an alternating current circuit, due to inductance and capacitance; the imaginary part of the impedance. Symbol: X.

Corpus desk

Index EN-reactance · reactance · English

reactance · rank #84,658 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #84,658
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH reapportionme…

Nearest frequency peer: reapportionment (+2 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.

Long-tail ranks near “reactance”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “reactance” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for reactance
PropertyValue
Headwordreactance
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#84,658
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “reactance” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).reactancefalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “reapportionment” (#84,660), “Rasool” (#84,655), “Rapaport” (#84,653). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “reactance” is #84,658. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

reactance is uncommon English at frequency #84,658 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for reactance, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From react + -ance. The correct English form is reactance, spelled R-E-A-C-T-A-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The opposition to the change in flow of current in an alternating current circuit, due to inductance and capacitance; the imaginary part of the impedance. Symbol: X.
  2. 2
    A similar effect in magnetism.
  3. 3
    An emotional reaction in direct contradiction to rules or regulations that threaten or eliminate specific behavioral freedoms.

Etymology

From react + -ance.

This word in other languages

Blindwiderstand(Deutsch)

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 "reactance"?
"reactance" is spelled R-E-A-C-T-A-N-C-E.
What does "reactance" mean?
As a noun, "reactance" means: The opposition to the change in flow of current in an alternating current circuit, due to inductance and capacitance; the imaginary part of the impedance. Symbol: X.
What is the origin of the word "reactance"?
From react + -ance. 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 "reactance", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

redlining#84,667protozoan#84,631roguelike#84,694Roquefort#84,697

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list