Prescribe or proscribe?
prescribe is a verb meaning “To order (a drug or medical device) for use by a particular patient (under…”; proscribe is a verb meaning “To forbid or prohibit”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) prescribe is about 37 times as common as proscribe.
What is the difference between prescribe and proscribe?
| prescribe | proscribe | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb | verb |
| Meaning | To order (a drug or medical device) for use by a particular patient (under licensed authority) To specify by writing as a required procedure or ritual; to lay down authoritatively as a guide, direction, or rule of action | To forbid or prohibit To denounce |
| Example | The doctor prescribed aspirin | The law proscribes driving a car while intoxicated |
| Forms | prescribes, prescribing, prescribed | proscribes, proscribing, proscribed |
| Pronunciation | /pɹɪˈskɹaɪb/ /pɹəˈskɹaɪb/ /pɝˈskɹaɪb/ | /pɹəˈskɹaɪb/ /ˈpɹəʊskɹaɪb/ /ˈpɹoʊˌskɹaɪb/ |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words | about once in every 15 million words |
Sources: prescribe and proscribe in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of prescribe and proscribe
prescribe
- 1
To order (a drug or medical device) for use by a particular patient (under licensed authority)
The doctor prescribed aspirin
- 2
To specify by writing as a required procedure or ritual; to lay down authoritatively as a guide, direction, or rule of action
The property meets the criteria prescribed by the regulations
- 3
To develop or assert a right; to make a claim (by prescription)
- 4
To become invalidated or unenforceable by prescription, to lapse
proscribe
- 1
To forbid or prohibit
The law proscribes driving a car while intoxicated
- 2
To denounce
The word ‘ain't’ is proscribed by many authorities
- 3
To banish or exclude
Many Roman citizens were proscribed for taking part in rebellions
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, prescribe or proscribe?
prescribe appears 2.5 times per million words; proscribe about once in every 15 million words.
prescribe 2.5 times per million wordsproscribe about once in every 15 million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search prescribe vs proscribe?
“prescribe vs proscribe” is searched about 590 times a month on Google and 60 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“proscribe vs prescribe”, “prescribe or proscribe”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.