approximative

\a.pʁɔk.si.ma.tiv\

/\a.pʁɔk.si.ma.tiv\/ adj

The verdict

“approximative” has 17 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #19,445. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,445
frequency rank, French
6,727
“A” headwords
17
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Féminin singulier de approximatif.

Corpus desk

Index FR-approximative · approximative · French

approximative · rank #19,445 · 17 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,445
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,727
  • PHOTO-FINISH appellations

Nearest frequency peer: appellations (-1 rank slots)

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.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « approximative »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « approximative » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

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).

approximative vs approximatives
93% similar
approximative vs approximatif
85% similar
approximative vs approximation
85% similar

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

Key facts for approximative
PropertyValue
Headwordapproximative
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\a.pʁɔk.si.ma.tiv\
Letters13
Frequency rank#19,445
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « approximative »

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).approximativese place ici:

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

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « appellations » (#19,444), « asso » (#19,446), « appartenaient » (#19,443). Parmi 6,727 lemmes en « A », « approximative » est au #19,445. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around approximative (IPA \a.pʁɔk.si.ma.tiv\), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #19,445 among 6,727 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Féminin singulier de approximatif.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for approximative, with forms such as "apporximative", "approixmative", and "approxiamtive". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "approximatives", "approximatif", "approximation", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is approximative, spelled A-P-P-R-O-X-I-M-A-T-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Féminin singulier de approximatif.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. M. SAUTTER s’incline devant la grande expérience de M. Farcot ; il n’a pas eu la prétention de dire qu’avant M. Foucault personne n’eût tenté d’isochroniser le pendule de Watt : il connait et admire le régulateur à bras croisés ; mais ce n’est là qu’une solution approximative et obtenue avec des organes très-compliqués, tandis que celle de M. Foucault est…

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apporximative
  • approixmative
  • approxiamtive
  • approximaitve
  • approximatiev
  • approximativve
  • approximattive
  • approximatvie
  • approximmative
  • approximtaive
  • approxmiative
  • approxximative
  • apprroximative
  • apprxoimative
  • aproximative
  • aprpoximative
  • paproximative

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of approximative - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

apporximative2approixmative2approxiamtive2approximaitve2approximatiev2approximativve1approximattive1approximatvie2
Edit distance from "approximative"

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "approximative"?
"approximative" is spelled A-P-P-R-O-X-I-M-A-T-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is \a.pʁɔk.si.ma.tiv\.
What does "approximative" mean?
As an adjective, "approximative" means: Féminin singulier de approximatif.
What words are commonly confused with "approximative"?
"approximative" is commonly confused with "approximatives", "approximatif", "approximation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "approximative"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "approximative" is \a.pʁɔk.si.ma.tiv\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "approximative" come from?
"approximative" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "approximative", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list