prescience

/ˈpɹɛsɪ.əns/

//ˈpɹɛsɪ.əns// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"prescience" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prescience” is uncommon English (frequency #84,629 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#84,629
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Knowledge of events before they take place.

Key facts for prescience
PropertyValue
Headwordprescience
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɹɛsɪ.əns/
Letters10
Frequency rank#84,629
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “prescience” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). prescience lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

prescience is uncommon English at frequency #84,629 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɹɛsɪ.əns/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for prescience, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English prescience, from Old French prescience, from Latin praescientia. The correct English form is prescience, spelled P-R-E-S-C-I-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Knowledge of events before they take place.
  2. 2
    Knowledge of events before they take place.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English prescience, from Old French prescience, from Latin praescientia.

This word in other languages

presciencia(Español)prescience(Français)presciência(Português)

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 "prescience"?
"prescience" is spelled P-R-E-S-C-I-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɹɛsɪ.əns/.
What does "prescience" mean?
As a noun, "prescience" means: Knowledge of events before they take place.
How do you pronounce "prescience"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prescience" is /ˈpɹɛsɪ.əns/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "prescience"?
Inherited from Middle English prescience, from Old French prescience, from Latin praescientia. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “prescience”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-R-E-S-C-I-E-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈpɹɛsɪ.əns/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list