reflexive
/ɹɪˈflɛksɪv/adjective, noun
reflexive is spelled R-E-F-L-E-X-I-V-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,320th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, reflexive means “Referring back to the subject, or having an object equal to the subject” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in reflexive?
| Letters | 9: R-E-F-L-E-X-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 35,320th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is reflexive?
Reflexive appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,320th 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 reflexive?
- US /ɹɪˈflɛksɪv/
- US /ɹəˈflɛksɪv/
Reflexive has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-reflexive.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of reflexive
- reflexives plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does reflexive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Referring back to the subject, or having an object equal to the subject.
- 2
Of a relation R on a set S, such that xRx for all members x of S (that is, the relation holds between any element of the set and itself).
"Equals" is a reflexive relation, as it holds for all possible x; "not less" is non-reflexive because it is true only for some x and y, "unequal" is irreflexive, as it never holds between x and itself.
- 3
Of or resulting from a reflex.
The electric shock elicited an automatic and reflexive response from him.
- 4
Producing immediate response, spontaneous.
a reflexive dislike
- 5
Producing or provoking a reciprocal response.
- 6
Synonym of reflective.
noun
- 1
A reflexive pronoun.
- 2
A reflexive verb.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate reflexive?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of reflexive: refl, refl..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Reflexive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in grammar:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | réfléchi |
| German | rückbezüglich, reflexiv |
| Portuguese | reflexivo |
| Spanish | reflexivo |
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 reflexive come from?
From Medieval Latin reflexīvus, from Latin reflexus, equivalent to reflex + -ive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).