prevention

/pɹɪˈvɛnʃən/

//pɹɪˈvɛnʃən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“prevention” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,476. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,476
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of preventing or hindering; obstruction of action, access, or approach; thwarting.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prevention · prevention · English

prevention · rank #4,476 · 16 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,476
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pin

Nearest frequency peer: pin (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “prevention”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “prevention” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

prevention vs preventive
80% similar
prevention vs preventing
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for prevention
PropertyValue
Headwordprevention
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɹɪˈvɛnʃən/
Letters10
Frequency rank#4,476
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “prevention”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “pin” (#4,475), “printing” (#4,477), “photographer” (#4,474). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prevention” is #4,476. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around prevention (IPA /pɹɪˈvɛnʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,476 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for prevention, with forms such as "pervention", "pprevention", and "preevntion". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "preventive", "preventing", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English prevencion, from Medieval Latin prēventiō. The correct English form is prevention, spelled P-R-E-V-E-N-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of preventing or hindering; obstruction of action, access, or approach; thwarting.
  2. 2
    Any measure intended to limit health-related risks (such as information campaigns, vaccination, early diagnosis etc.).
  3. 3
    The act of going, or state of being, before.
  4. 4
    Anticipation; especially, anticipation of needs, wishes, hazards and risks
  5. 5
    precaution; forethought.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how prevention appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. a fire prevention campaign
  2. Casca, be sudden, for we fear prevention.

Etymology

From Middle English prevencion, from Medieval Latin prēventiō.

This word in other languages

prevención(Español)prévention(Français)Prävention(Deutsch)prevenção(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pervention
  • pprevention
  • preevntion
  • preveniton
  • prevenntion
  • prevension
  • preventino
  • preventionn
  • preventoin
  • preventtion
  • prevetnion
  • prevnetion
  • prevvention
  • prrevention
  • prveention
  • rpevention

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prevention - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

pervention2pprevention1preevntion2preveniton2prevenntion1prevension1preventino2preventionn1
Edit distance from "prevention"

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 "prevention"?
"prevention" is spelled P-R-E-V-E-N-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹɪˈvɛnʃən/.
What does "prevention" mean?
As a noun, "prevention" means: The act of preventing or hindering; obstruction of action, access, or approach; thwarting.
What words are commonly confused with "prevention"?
"prevention" is commonly confused with "preventive", "preventing". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "prevention"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prevention" is /pɹɪˈvɛnʃən/. 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 "prevention"?
From Middle English prevencion, from Medieval Latin prēventiō. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "prevention", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

specialist#4,491surprising#4,495acceptable#4,503attempting#4,505

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

challenging16 variantsremarkable16 variantsacquisition16 variantsgenerations16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list