pregnant
preg·nant/ˈpɹɛɡnənt/adjective, noun
pregnant is spelled P-R-E-G-N-A-N-T, 2 syllables: preg·nant. The wrong spelling people search most is gregnant: about 90 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 118 of all searches for the word. Pregnant is an adjective meaning “Carrying developing offspring within the body”.
How many letters and syllables are in pregnant?
| Letters | 8: P-R-E-G-N-A-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: preg·nant |
| In writing | 36 times per million words; the 2,669th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 2; the most searched, gregnant, about 90 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell pregnant?
Pregnant is spelled P-R-E-G-N-A-N-T. 2 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 76 of the searches for pregnant in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is pregnant?
Pregnant appears 36 times per million words in written English, the 2,669th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pregnant?
- /ˈpɹɛɡnənt/
- /ˈpɹeɪ̯ɡnənt/
Pregnant has 2 syllables, split preg·nant in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-pregnant.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pregnant
- more pregnant comparative
- most pregnant superlative
- pregnants plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pregnant mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Carrying developing offspring within the body.
I went to the doctor and, guess what, I’m five weeks pregnant!
- 2
proscribedOf a couple: expecting a baby together.
We are pregnant.
- 3
Meaningful, having numerous possibilities or implications; full of promise; abounding in ability, resources, etc.
a pregnant pause
- 4
Fecund, fertile, prolific (usually of soil, ground, etc.).
- 5
Pervaded by something, usually sth intangible.
The operations center was pregnant with anxiety.
- 6
obsoleteAffording entrance; receptive; yielding; willing; open; prompt.
- 7
obsoleteReady-witted; clever; ingenious.
- 8
archaicCompelling; clear, evident.
noun
- 1
colloquialA pregnant person.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pregnant in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | enceint, plein, gravide, en gestation |
| German | schwanger, trächtig , bedeutungsvoll |
| Portuguese | grávido, prenhe, prenha |
| Spanish | embarazado, preñado, encinto, grávido, en estado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pregnant come from?
From Middle English preignant, from Old French preignant, pregnant, also prenant (compare archaic Modern French prégnant), and their source, Latin praegnāns (“pregnant”), probably from prae- (“pre-”) + *gnāscī, an archaic form of nāscī (“to be born”). Displaced Old English bearnēacen (literally "child-enlarged").
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).