retributive
/ɹɪˈtɹɪ.bjʊ.tɪv/
"retributive" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“retributive” is uncommon English (frequency #84,681 among 21,470 “R” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #84,681
- frequency rank, English
- 21,470
- “R” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Relating to retribution; retaliatory.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | retributive |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɹɪˈtɹɪ.bjʊ.tɪv/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #84,681 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “retributive” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
retributive is uncommon English at frequency #84,681 among 21,470 “R” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ɹɪˈtɹɪ.bjʊ.tɪv/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Relating to retribution; retaliatory.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for retributive in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is retributive, spelled R-E-T-R-I-B-U-T-I-V-E.
Definition
- 1Relating to retribution; retaliatory.
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 “retributive”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-T-R-I-B-U-T-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɹɪˈtɹɪ.bjʊ.tɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.