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presence

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

8 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "presence", 8-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "presence" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "presence" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

presence is aEnglishnoun. It means: The fact or condition of being present, or of being within sight or call, or at hand. Pronounced /ˈpɹɛzn̩s/. It ranks #1,914 in English word frequency. Often confused with present and presents.

Key facts for presence
PropertyValue
Headwordpresence
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɹɛzn̩s/
Letters8
Frequency rank#1,914
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of presence in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for presence is 8 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɹɛzn̩s/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,914 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 13 documented wrong-spelling variants for presence, with forms such as "persence", "ppresence", and "preesnce". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "present", "presents", "preserve", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Through Old French presence, from Latin praesentia (“a being present”), from praesentem. Displaced native Old English andweardnes. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is presence, spelled P-R-E-S-E-N-C-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    The fact or condition of being present, or of being within sight or call, or at hand.
  2. 2
    The part of space within one's immediate vicinity.
  3. 3
    A quality of poise and effectiveness that enables a performer to achieve a close relationship with their audience.
  4. 4
    A quality that sets an individual out from others; a quality that makes them noticed and/or admired even if they are not speaking or performing.
  5. 5
    Something (as a spirit) felt or believed to be present.
  6. 6
    A company's business activity in a particular market.
  7. 7
    An assembly of great persons.
  8. 8
    The state of being closely focused on the here and now, not distracted by irrelevant thoughts.
  9. 9
    Synonym of room tone.

Etymology

Through Old French presence, from Latin praesentia (“a being present”), from praesentem. Displaced native Old English andweardnes.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: persence,ppresence,preesnce,presance,presecne,presencce,presenec,presennce,presnece,pressence,prresence,prseence,rpesence

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for presence

Misspelling Variants of "presence"

persence8ppresence9preesnce8presance8presecne8presencce9presenec8presennce9
Misspelling Variants of "presence"

Frequency rank: #1,914 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "presence"?
"presence" is spelled P-R-E-S-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɹɛzn̩s/.
What does "presence" mean?
As a noun, "presence" means: The fact or condition of being present, or of being within sight or call, or at hand.
What words are commonly confused with "presence"?
"presence" is commonly confused with "present", "presents", "preserve". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "presence"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "presence" is /ˈpɹɛzn̩s/. 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 "presence"?
Through Old French presence, from Latin praesentia (“a being present”), from praesentem. Displaced native Old English andweardnes. 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter P in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.