suppressive

/səˈprɛ.sɪv/

//səˈprɛ.sɪv// adj

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

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

The verdict

“suppressive” is uncommon English (frequency #57,112 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,112
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - That serves to suppress.

Corpus desk

Index EN-suppressive · suppressive · English

suppressive · rank #57,112 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,112
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Suva

Nearest frequency peer: Suva (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “suppressive”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “suppressive” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for suppressive
PropertyValue
Headwordsuppressive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/səˈprɛ.sɪv/
Letters11
Frequency rank#57,112
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “suppressive” in English

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).suppressivefalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “Suva” (#57,113), “superbike” (#57,110), “sunlit” (#57,109). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “suppressive” is #57,112. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

suppressive is uncommon English at frequency #57,112 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /səˈprɛ.sɪv/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "That serves to suppress.".

suppressive has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From suppress + -ive. The correct English form is suppressive, spelled S-U-P-P-R-E-S-S-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    That serves to suppress.

Etymology

From suppress + -ive.

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 "suppressive"?
"suppressive" is spelled S-U-P-P-R-E-S-S-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /səˈprɛ.sɪv/.
What does "suppressive" mean?
As an adjective, "suppressive" means: That serves to suppress.
How do you pronounce "suppressive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "suppressive" is /səˈprɛ.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 "suppressive"?
From suppress + -ive. 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 "suppressive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

smithereens#57,079uncountable#57,145Shelbyville#57,064revaluation#57,021

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list