presence
pres·ence/ˈpɹɛzəns/noun, verb
presence is spelled P-R-E-S-E-N-C-E, 2 syllables: pres·ence. The wrong spelling people search most is presense: about 560 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 17 of all searches for the word. Presence is a noun meaning “The fact or condition of being present, or of being within sight or call, or at hand”. The plural of presence is presences.
How many letters and syllables are in presence?
| Letters | 8: P-R-E-S-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pres·ence |
| In writing | 54 times per million words; the 1,899th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, presense, about 560 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 presence?
Presence is spelled P-R-E-S-E-N-C-E. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 17 of the searches for presence 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 presence?
Presence appears 54 times per million words in written English, the 1,899th 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 presence?
- US /ˈpɹɛzəns/
- US [ˈpɹɛzn̩s]
- Australia /ˈpɹezəns/
Presence has 2 syllables, split pres·ence in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-presence.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of presence
- presences plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- præsence
- presencing participle, present
- presenced participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does presence mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The fact or condition of being present, or of being within sight or call, or at hand.
Any painter can benefit from the presence of a live model from which to draw.
- 2
The part of space within one's immediate vicinity.
Bob never said anything about it in my presence.
- 3
A quality of poise and effectiveness that enables a performer to achieve a close relationship with their audience.
- 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.
Despite being less than five foot, she filled up the theatre with her stage presence.
- 5
Something (as a spirit) felt or believed to be present.
I'm convinced that there was a presence in that building that I can't explain, which led to my heroic actions.
- 6
A company's business activity in a particular market.
- 7
archaicAn assembly of great persons.
- 8
The state of being closely focused on the here and now, not distracted by irrelevant thoughts.
verb
- 1
To make or become present.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Presence in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense fact or condition of being present:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | présence |
| German | Anwesenheit |
| Portuguese | presença |
| Spanish | presencia |
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 presence come from?
Through Old French presence, from Latin praesentia (“a being present”), from praesentem. Displaced native Old English andweardnes.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).