Which to use
“réactif” and “réactive” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,866
- “réactif” frequency rank
- #29,958
- “réactive” frequency rank
- 48824
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | réactif | réactive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui réagit ou fait réagir. | Féminin singulier de réactif. |
Where the eye mixes réactif and réactive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. réactif runs 7 letters (CVVCCVC) against réactive's 8 (CVVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between réactif and réactive
A purely visual mix-up. réactif (\ʁe.ak.tif\) and réactive (\ʁe.ak.tiv\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48824, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
réactif is recorded at frequency rank #18,866, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.ak.tif\. réactive is at rank #29,958, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.ak.tiv\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 48824, this pair ranks #175,758 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of réactif vs réactive
Shared letters: acirté. Private to "réactif": f. Private to "réactive": ev.
"réactif" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "réactive" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "réactif" for "réactive" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "réactif" or "réactive" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "réactif" and "réactive" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "réactif" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "réactive" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #175,758 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "réactif" and "réactive" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réactive vs réactiver". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #175,758 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.