privation

/pɹɪˈveɪʃən/

//pɹɪˈveɪʃən// noun

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

"privation" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“privation” is uncommon English (frequency #78,960 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,960
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state of being deprived of or lacking an attribute formerly or properly possessed; the loss or absence of such an attribute.

Corpus desk

Index EN-privation · privation · English

privation · rank #78,960 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #78,960
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Priti

Nearest frequency peer: Priti (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “privation”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “privation” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for privation
PropertyValue
Headwordprivation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɹɪˈveɪʃən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#78,960
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “privation” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).privationfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Priti” (#78,959), “princeps” (#78,958), “prompter” (#78,962). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “privation” is #78,960. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

privation is uncommon English at frequency #78,960 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /pɹɪˈveɪʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for privation in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English privacioun, from Middle French privation, privacion, from Old French privacion, from Latin prīvātiō; compare French privation. See private. The correct English form is privation, spelled P-R-I-V-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state of being deprived of or lacking an attribute formerly or properly possessed; the loss or absence of such an attribute.
  2. 2
    The state of being very poor, and lacking the basic necessities of life.
  3. 3
    The act of depriving someone of such basic necessities; deprivation.
  4. 4
    Degradation or suspension from an office.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. His [the Native American's] nature is stern, simple and enduring; fitted to grapple with difficulties, and to support privations.
  2. For Yen Hsüeh-mei, the Shanghai-bred nurse, life in northern Hupei must have represented a striking change. Lao-ho-k'ou was the headquarters of General Li Tsung-jen, commander of the Fifth War Area.[…]If the General lived in such humble quarters, it is safe to say that the quarters to which Chiang Kuei brought his wife were plainer yet. But physical priva…

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English privacioun, from Middle French privation, privacion, from Old French privacion, from Latin prīvātiō; compare French privation. See private.

This word in other languages

privation(Français)Entbehrung(Deutsch)

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 "privation"?
"privation" is spelled P-R-I-V-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹɪˈveɪʃən/.
What does "privation" mean?
As a noun, "privation" means: The state of being deprived of or lacking an attribute formerly or properly possessed; the loss or absence of such an attribute.
How do you pronounce "privation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "privation" is /pɹɪˈveɪʃən/. 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 "privation"?
Inherited from Middle English privacioun, from Middle French privation, privacion, from Old French privacion, from Latin prīvātiō; compare French privation. See private. 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 "privation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

poorhouse#78,949Pomerania#78,946polythene#78,945Ravenhill#78,988

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list