responsive

/ɹɪˈspɒn.sɪv/

//ɹɪˈspɒn.sɪv// adj

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

"responsive" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“responsive” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,280. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,280
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Answering, replying or responding

Corpus desk

Index EN-responsive · responsive · English

responsive · rank #11,280 · 15 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,280
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH richest

Nearest frequency peer: richest (+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 “responsive”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “responsive” 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).

responsive vs response
80% similar
responsive vs responsible
82% similar

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

Key facts for responsive
PropertyValue
Headwordresponsive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ɹɪˈspɒn.sɪv/
Letters10
Frequency rank#11,280
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “responsive”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).responsivelands 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 “richest” (#11,281), “residency” (#11,278), “roar” (#11,282). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “responsive” is #11,280. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around responsive (IPA /ɹɪˈspɒn.sɪv/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #11,280 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for responsive, with forms such as "ersponsive", "repsonsive", and "resopnsive". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "response", "responsible", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French responsif, from Late Latin responsivus. The correct English form is responsive, spelled R-E-S-P-O-N-S-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Answering, replying or responding
  2. 2
    Able to receive and respond to external stimuli.
  3. 3
    Using antiphons; antiphonal.
  4. 4
    Susceptible to the feelings of others.
  5. 5
    Automatically resizing and repositioning elements to fit the available space.
  6. 6
    Suited to something else; correspondent.
  7. 7
    Responsible.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Now, let's briefly explore two different approaches for creating sites for a multiple audience: multiserving and responsive design.
  2. The vocal lay responsive to the strings.

Etymology

From Middle French responsif, from Late Latin responsivus.

Antonyms

nonresponsiveunresponsive

This word in other languages

contestador(Español)sensible(Français)ansprechbar(Deutsch)sensível(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ersponsive
  • repsonsive
  • resopnsive
  • respnosive
  • responisve
  • responnsive
  • responsiev
  • responsivve
  • responssive
  • responsvie
  • resposnive
  • respponsive
  • ressponsive
  • rresponsive
  • rseponsive

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of responsive - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ersponsive2repsonsive2resopnsive2respnosive2responisve2responnsive1responsiev2responsivve1
Edit distance from "responsive"

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 "responsive"?
"responsive" is spelled R-E-S-P-O-N-S-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈspɒn.sɪv/.
What does "responsive" mean?
As an adjective, "responsive" means: Answering, replying or responding
What words are commonly confused with "responsive"?
"responsive" is commonly confused with "response", "responsible". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "responsive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "responsive" is /ɹɪˈspɒn.sɪv/. 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 "responsive"?
From Middle French responsif, from Late Latin responsivus. 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 "responsive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

songwriter#11,294Petersburg#11,265technician#11,307transcript#11,310

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

stretches15 variantsmeaningless15 variantsKardashian15 variantsbutterflies15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list