lessive
\lɛ.siv\
The verdict
“lessive” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #15,668 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #15,668
- frequency rank, French
- 7
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 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.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lessive |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \lɛ.siv\ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #15,668 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “lessive” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for lessive is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \lɛ.siv\. Corpus data places it at rank #15,668 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1Eau 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.
- 2Action de laver, de nettoyer le linge par des procédés chimiques ou mécaniques.
- 3Linge sale qui doit être lessivé, qui a été lavé.
- 4Toute sorte d’eau détersive, rendue telle par quelque matière convenable.
- 5Poudre ou liquide détergente que l'on dissout dans l'eau pour laver le linge.
- 6Nettoyage, action de débarrasser un organisme industriel, commercial, administratif, etc., des gens qui en compromettent le bon fonctionnement.
- 7Solution aqueuse alcaline.
- 8Opération 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.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
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.
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
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Using “lessive”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is L-E-S-S-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \lɛ.siv\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “lessives” - see the side-by-side comparison. lessive vs lessives
- Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
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.