selectivity

noun

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

"selectivity" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“selectivity” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #37,218. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#37,218
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
17
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The quality of being selective, or extent to which something is selective.

Corpus desk

Index EN-selectivity · selectivity · English

selectivity · rank #37,218 · 17 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #37,218
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sculpt

Nearest frequency peer: sculpt (-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 “selectivity”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “selectivity” 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).

selectivity vs selectively
82% similar

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

Key facts for selectivity
PropertyValue
Headwordselectivity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Frequency rank#37,218
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “selectivity”

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).selectivitylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “sculpt” (#37,217), “screenwriting” (#37,216), “schilling” (#37,215). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “selectivity” is #37,218. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around selectivity, anoun. Corpus frequency is #37,218 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for selectivity, with forms such as "eslectivity", "seelctivity", and "selcetivity". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "selectively", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From selective + -ity. The correct English form is selectivity, spelled S-E-L-E-C-T-I-V-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The quality of being selective, or extent to which something is selective.
  2. 2
    The ability of a radio receiver to separate a desired signal frequency from others.
  3. 3
    Discrimination of a reactant towards a choice of other reactants; the ratio of rate constants for different reactants.
  4. 4
    An approach to social work that prioritizes people perceived as having the most need for assistance.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […] while music was known to have scientific qualities — harmony, Pythagorean proportional relationship, etc. — it was the musician who by his selectivity made these proportions beautiful, […]
  2. “We must stop conflating selectivity with excellence. We must stop correlating prestige with privilege,” he said.

Etymology

From selective + -ity.

This word in other languages

selectividad(Español)sélectivité(Français)Selektivität(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eslectivity
  • seelctivity
  • selcetivity
  • selecctivity
  • selecitvity
  • selectiivty
  • selectivitty
  • selectivityy
  • selectiviyt
  • selectivtiy
  • selectivvity
  • selecttivity
  • selectviity
  • seletcivity
  • sellectivity
  • sleectivity
  • sselectivity

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of selectivity - 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.

eslectivity2seelctivity2selcetivity2selecctivity1selecitvity2selectiivty2selectivitty1selectivityy1
Edit distance from "selectivity"

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 "selectivity"?
"selectivity" is spelled S-E-L-E-C-T-I-V-I-T-Y.
What does "selectivity" mean?
As a noun, "selectivity" means: The quality of being selective, or extent to which something is selective.
What words are commonly confused with "selectivity"?
"selectivity" is commonly confused with "selectively". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "selectivity"?
From selective + -ity. 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 "selectivity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Strathclyde#37,236suffocation#37,239syndication#37,242recoverable#37,189

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

togetherness17 variantsoutrageously17 variantsneurosurgeon17 variantsjustifiably17 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list