reactive
/ɹiːˈæktɪv/
"reactive" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“reactive” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,199 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #14,199
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - That reacts or responds to a stimulus.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | reactive |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɹiːˈæktɪv/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #14,199 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “reactive” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for reactive is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹiːˈæktɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,199 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for reactive, with forms such as "eractive", "raective", and "reacctive". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "receive", "relative", "realtime", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From react + -ive. The correct English form is reactive, spelled R-E-A-C-T-I-V-E.
Definition
- 1That reacts or responds to a stimulus.
- 2That readily takes part in reactions.
- 3Characterized by induction or capacitance rather than resistance.
- 4Reacting to the past rather than anticipating the future, not predictive.
Etymology
From react + -ive.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: eractive,raective,reacctive,reacitve,reactiev,reactivve,reacttive,reactvie,reatcive,recative,rreactive
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of reactive - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “reactive”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-A-C-T-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɹiːˈæktɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “receive” - see the side-by-side comparison. reactive vs receive
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.