prodigious

/pɹəˈdɪd͡ʒəs/

//pɹəˈdɪd͡ʒəs// adj

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

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

The verdict

“prodigious” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #32,136. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#32,136
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Extraordinarily amazing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prodigious · prodigious · English

prodigious · rank #32,136 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #32,136
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH prodigal

Nearest frequency peer: prodigal (-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 “prodigious”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “prodigious” 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
Key facts for prodigious
PropertyValue
Headwordprodigious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/pɹəˈdɪd͡ʒəs/
Letters10
Frequency rank#32,136
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “prodigious”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).prodigiouslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “prodigal” (#32,135), “propellant” (#32,137), “procuring” (#32,134). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prodigious” is #32,136. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around prodigious (IPA /pɹəˈdɪd͡ʒəs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #32,136 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for prodigious, with forms such as "pordigious", "pprodigious", and "prdoigious". 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. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *pér Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *pró Proto-Indo-European *pro- Proto-Italic *pro- Latin prō- Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵ-der. Proto-Indo-European… The correct English form is prodigious, spelled P-R-O-D-I-G-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Extraordinarily amazing.
  2. 2
    Extraordinarily amazing.
  3. 3
    Extraordinarily amazing.
  4. 4
    Very big in extent, quantity, or size; abundant; intense; colossal, huge.
  5. 5
    Having the nature of an omen or portent; ominous, portentous.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. VVhat am I? Old! or a Monſter! Is it ſo prodigious, that a Man ſhou'd like me?
  2. Prodigious! […] VVhat in the Name of VVonder hath brought you to England?

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *pér Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *pró Proto-Indo-European *pro- Proto-Italic *pro- Latin prō- Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵ-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁ǵyéti Proto-Italic *agjō Latin aiō Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ium Latin prōdigium Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed-der. Proto-Indo-European *-h₃d-s-o-? Latin -ōsus Latin prōdigiōsusbor. Middle English prodigious English prodigious The adjective is derived from Late Middle English prodigious (“warning of disaster, portentous”), from Latin prōdigiōsus (“strange, unnatural; marvellous, wonderful, prodigious”), from prōdigium (“prophetic sign, omen, portent; prodigy, wonder”) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of’ forming adjectives from nouns). Prōdigium is derived from prō- (prefix denoting a forward direction, something before or prior, or prominence) + aiō (“to say, speak”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵ- (“to say”)) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns). The English word is analysable as prodigy + -ous. The adverb is derived from the adjective. Cognates * Catalan prodigiós * Middle French prodigieux (“portentous”) (modern French prodigieux) * Italian prodigioso * Portuguese prodigioso * Spanish prodigioso

This word in other languages

prodigioso(Español)prodigieux(Français)verwunderlich(Deutsch)prodigioso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pordigious
  • pprodigious
  • prdoigious
  • proddigious
  • prodgiious
  • prodiggious
  • prodigiosu
  • prodigiouss
  • prodigiuos
  • prodigoius
  • prodiigous
  • proidgious
  • prrodigious
  • rpodigious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prodigious - 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.

pordigious2pprodigious1prdoigious2proddigious1prodgiious2prodiggious1prodigiosu2prodigiouss1
Edit distance from "prodigious"

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 "prodigious"?
"prodigious" is spelled P-R-O-D-I-G-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹəˈdɪd͡ʒəs/.
What does "prodigious" mean?
As an adjective, "prodigious" means: Extraordinarily amazing.
What are common misspellings of "prodigious"?
Common misspellings include "pordigious", "pprodigious", "prdoigious", "proddigious", "prodgiious". The correct spelling is "prodigious".
How do you pronounce "prodigious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prodigious" is /pɹəˈdɪd͡ʒəs/. 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 "prodigious"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *pér Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *pró Proto-Indo-European *pro- Proto-Italic *pro- Latin prō- Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵ-der. Proto-Ind... 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 "prodigious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

propellant#32,137reschedule#32,155Napoleonic#32,095stubbornly#32,198

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

procuring14 variantsrefinance14 variantsplaymaker14 variantsreformist14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list