Which to use
“restriction” is a noun and “restrictive” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,474
- “restriction” frequency rank
- #25,110
- “restrictive” frequency rank
- 36584
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | restriction | restrictive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Condition qui restreint, modification. | Féminin singulier de restrictif. |
Where the eye mixes restriction and restrictive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses restriction with restrictive
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: restriction is \ʁɛs.tʁik.sjɔ̃\ while restrictive is \ʁɛs.tʁik.tiv\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36584, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
restriction is recorded at frequency rank #11,474, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁɛs.tʁik.sjɔ̃\. restrictive is at rank #25,110, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁɛs.tʁik.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 36584, this pair ranks #268,566 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of restriction vs restrictive
Shared letters: ceirst. Private to "restriction": no. Private to "restrictive": v.
"restriction" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVVC · "restrictive" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- restriction ← erstriction · resrtiction · resstriction · restirction · restrcition · restricction · restriciton · restrictino
- restrictive ← erstrictive · resrtictive · resstrictive · restirctive · restrcitive · restricctive · restricitve · restrictiev
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "restriction" and "restrictive" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "restriction" vs "restrictive" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "restriction" and "restrictive" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "restriction" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "restrictive" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #268,566 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "restriction" and "restrictive" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "restrictif vs restrictive". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #268,566 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.