prestigious

/pɹɛˈstɪd͡ʒəs/

//pɹɛˈstɪd͡ʒəs// adj

"prestigious" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prestigious” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,844 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#8,844
frequency rank, English
11
letters
16
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of high prestige.

Key facts for prestigious
PropertyValue
Headwordprestigious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/pɹɛˈstɪd͡ʒəs/
Letters11
Frequency rank#8,844
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “prestigious” 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). prestigious lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for prestigious is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɹɛˈstɪd͡ʒəs/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,844 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Of high prestige.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for prestigious, with forms such as "perstigious", "pprestigious", and "presitgious". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Attested since the 1540s; Latin praestigiosus (“full of tricks”), praestigiae (“juggler's tricks”), possibly an alteration of praestringō (“to blindfold, to dazzle”), from prae- (“before”) with stringō (“to bind or tie”); equivalent to prestige + -ious. Uns… The correct English form is prestigious, spelled P-R-E-S-T-I-G-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of high prestige.

Etymology

Attested since the 1540s; Latin praestigiosus (“full of tricks”), praestigiae (“juggler's tricks”), possibly an alteration of praestringō (“to blindfold, to dazzle”), from prae- (“before”) with stringō (“to bind or tie”); equivalent to prestige + -ious. Unstressed /ɛ/ is retained by analogy with prestige.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: perstigious,pprestigious,presitgious,presstigious,prestgiious,prestiggious,prestigiosu,prestigiouss,prestigiuos,prestigoius,prestiigous,presttigious,pretsigious,prrestigious,prsetigious,rpestigious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prestigious - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

perstigious2pprestigious1presitgious2presstigious1prestgiious2prestiggious1prestigiosu2prestigiouss1
Edit distance from "prestigious"

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 "prestigious"?
"prestigious" is spelled P-R-E-S-T-I-G-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹɛˈstɪd͡ʒəs/.
What does "prestigious" mean?
As an adjective, "prestigious" means: Of high prestige.
What are common misspellings of "prestigious"?
Common misspellings include "perstigious", "pprestigious", "presitgious", "presstigious", "prestgiious". The correct spelling is "prestigious".
How do you pronounce "prestigious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prestigious" is /pɹɛˈstɪd͡ʒəs/. 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 "prestigious"?
Attested since the 1540s; Latin praestigiosus (“full of tricks”), praestigiae (“juggler's tricks”), possibly an alteration of praestringō (“to blindfold, to dazzle”), from prae- (“before”) with stringō (“to bind or tie”); equivalent to prestige + ... 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 “prestigious”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-R-E-S-T-I-G-I-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /pɹɛˈstɪd͡ʒəs/ (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
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list