prehensile
/pɹiˈhɛnsəl/adjective
prehensile is spelled P-R-E-H-E-N-S-I-L-E: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, prehensile means “Able to take hold of and clasp objects; adapted for grasping especially by wrapping around an object” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in prehensile?
| Letters | 10: P-R-E-H-E-N-S-I-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 83,271st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is prehensile?
Prehensile appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st 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 prehensile?
- UK /pɹɪˈhɛn.saɪl/
- UK /pɹiːˈhɛn.saɪl/
- US /pɹiˈhɛnsəl/
Prehensile has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-prehensile.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with prehensile?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as prehensile from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnsəl/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
What does prehensile mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Able to take hold of and clasp objects; adapted for grasping especially by wrapping around an object.
Some monkeys have prehensile tails which they use to pick things up.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Prehensile in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense able to take hold of objects:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | préhensile, préhensif |
| Portuguese | preênsil |
| Spanish | prensil, prensor |
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 prehensile come from?
Borrowed from French préhensile, from Latin perfect passive participle prehēnsus, from prehendō (“grasp, seize”) + adjective suffix -ile, from Latin -ilis.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).