lessive

\lɛ.siv\

/\lɛ.siv\/ noun

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

The verdict

“lessive” has 8 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #15,668. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,668
frequency rank, French
2,567
“L” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Eau chaude que l’on verse sur du linge à blanchir, qui est entassé dans un cuvier et sur lequel on a mis un lit de soude, de potasse ou de cendre de bois.

Corpus desk

Index FR-lessive · lessive · French

lessive · rank #15,668 · 8 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,668
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,567
  • PHOTO-FINISH loyal

Nearest frequency peer: loyal (+2 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 « lessive »

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

corpus weight

What this shows « lessive » 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).

lessive vs lessives
88% similar
lessive vs Leslie
57% similar
lessive vs Lessing
57% similar

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

Key facts for lessive
PropertyValue
Headwordlessive
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\lɛ.siv\
Letters7
Frequency rank#15,668
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « lessive »

La fréquence va de la poignée de mots du quotidien (gauche) à la longue queue presque jamais vue (droite).lessivese place ici:

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

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « loyal » (#15,670), « kurde » (#15,665), « Loïc » (#15,671). Parmi 2,567 lemmes en « L », « lessive » est au #15,668. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around lessive (IPA \lɛ.siv\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,668 among 2,567 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for lessive, with forms such as "elssive", "lesisve", and "lesive". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "lessives", "Leslie", "Lessing", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is lessive, spelled L-E-S-S-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Eau chaude que l’on verse sur du linge à blanchir, qui est entassé dans un cuvier et sur lequel on a mis un lit de soude, de potasse ou de cendre de bois.
  2. 2
    Action de laver, de nettoyer le linge par des procédés chimiques ou mécaniques.
  3. 3
    Linge sale qui doit être lessivé, qui a été lavé.
  4. 4
    Toute sorte d’eau détersive, rendue telle par quelque matière convenable.
  5. 5
    Poudre ou liquide détergente que l'on dissout dans l'eau pour laver le linge.
  6. 6
    Nettoyage, action de débarrasser un organisme industriel, commercial, administratif, etc., des gens qui en compromettent le bon fonctionnement.
  7. 7
    Solution aqueuse alcaline.
  8. 8
    Opération qui consiste à verser plusieurs fois de l’eau chaude ou froide sur des matières terreuses ou autres pour en extraire les parties solubles qu’elles contiennent.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Cinq ou six grabats se touchant, dans l’unique pièce où les buées d’une lessive répandaient leur tiédeur acide […].
  2. […] elle admettait au temps de grande presse une femme de journée pour les lessives, plus abondantes à cette époque de l’année.

Synonyms

lixiviat

This word in other languages

lye(English)lejía(Español)Lauge(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elssive
  • lesisve
  • lesive
  • lessiev
  • lessivve
  • lessvie
  • llessive
  • lsesive

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lessive - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

elssive2lesisve2lesive1lessiev2lessivve1lessvie2llessive1lsesive2
Edit distance from "lessive"

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 "lessive"?
"lessive" is spelled L-E-S-S-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is \lɛ.siv\.
What does "lessive" mean?
As a noun, "lessive" means: Eau chaude que l’on verse sur du linge à blanchir, qui est entassé dans un cuvier et sur lequel on a mis un lit de soude, de potasse ou de cendre de bois.
What words are commonly confused with "lessive"?
"lessive" is commonly confused with "lessives", "Leslie", "Lessing". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lessive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lessive" is \lɛ.siv\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "lessive" come from?
"lessive" 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 "lessive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

kiosque#15,664Joachim#15,662maigrir#15,674janeiro#15,660

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

mettrai8 variantsidoles8 variantsoctave8 variantsghost8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list