preclude
/pɹɪˈkluːd/
"preclude" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“preclude” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #27,971 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #27,971
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To remove the possibility of; to rule out; to prevent or exclude; to render impossible.
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 | preclude |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /pɹɪˈkluːd/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #27,971 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “preclude” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for preclude is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɹɪˈkluːd/. Corpus data places it at rank #27,971 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To remove the possibility of; to rule out; to prevent or exclude; to render impossible.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for preclude, with forms such as "perclude", "ppreclude", and "prcelude". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "prelude", "precede", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin praeclūdere. The correct English form is preclude, spelled P-R-E-C-L-U-D-E.
Definition
- 1To remove the possibility of; to rule out; to prevent or exclude; to render impossible.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin praeclūdere.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: perclude,ppreclude,prcelude,precclude,precldue,precllude,precludde,preclued,preculde,prelcude,prreclude,rpeclude
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of preclude - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "preclude"?
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Using “preclude”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-E-C-L-U-D-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pɹɪˈkluːd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “prelude” - see the side-by-side comparison. preclude vs prelude
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English 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.