prevention
/pɹɪˈvɛnʃən/noun
prevention is spelled P-R-E-V-E-N-T-I-O-N: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,444th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, prevention means “The act of preventing or hindering; obstruction of action, access, or approach; thwarting” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of prevention is preventions.
How many letters and syllables are in prevention?
| Letters | 10: P-R-E-V-E-N-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 19 times per million words; the 4,444th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is prevention?
Prevention appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,444th 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 prevention?
- /pɹɪˈvɛnʃən/
Prevention has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-prevention.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of prevention
- preventions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does prevention mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of preventing or hindering; obstruction of action, access, or approach; thwarting.
a fire prevention campaign
- 2
Any measure intended to limit health-related risks (such as information campaigns, vaccination, early diagnosis etc.).
- 3
obsoleteThe act of going, or state of being, before.
- 4
obsoleteAnticipation; especially, anticipation of needs, wishes, hazards and risks
- 5
precaution; forethought.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Prevention in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense The act of preventing or hindering:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | prévention |
| German | Prävention |
| Portuguese | prevenção |
| Spanish | prevención |
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 prevention come from?
From Middle English prevencion, from Medieval Latin prēventiō.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).