prognosis
/pɹɒɡˈnəʊsɪs/
"prognosis" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“prognosis” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #18,929 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #18,929
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A forecast of the future course or outcome of a situation based on what is presently known; a prediction.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | prognosis |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pɹɒɡˈnəʊsɪs/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #18,929 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “prognosis” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for prognosis is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɹɒɡˈnəʊsɪs/. Corpus data places it at rank #18,929 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for prognosis, with forms such as "porgnosis", "pprognosis", and "prgonosis". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "prognostic", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Late Latin prognōsis (“forecast, prediction; forecast of the course and outcome of a disease”), itself borrowed from Ancient Greek πρόγνωσις (prógnōsis, “forecast of the course and outcome of a disease; (Koine) foreknowledge, perceivi… The correct English form is prognosis, spelled P-R-O-G-N-O-S-I-S.
Definition
- 1A forecast of the future course or outcome of a situation based on what is presently known; a prediction.
- 2A forecast of the future course or outcome of a disease or disorder based on current medical knowledge.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Late Latin prognōsis (“forecast, prediction; forecast of the course and outcome of a disease”), itself borrowed from Ancient Greek πρόγνωσις (prógnōsis, “forecast of the course and outcome of a disease; (Koine) foreknowledge, perceiving beforehand, prediction”), from προ- (pro-, prefix meaning ‘before; beforehand’) + γνῶσῐς (gnôsĭs, “inquiry, investigation; knowledge”). The plural prognoses is a learned borrowing from Late Latin prognōsēs. Cognates * Middle French prognosie (“forecast, prediction”) (modern French prognosie (obsolete), prognose (“forecast of the course and outcome of a disease”)) * Sanskrit प्रज्ञा (prajñā, “intelligence, wisdom; judgment; knowledge”)
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: porgnosis,pprognosis,prgonosis,proggnosis,prognnosis,prognoiss,prognosiss,prognossi,prognossis,prognsois,progonsis,prongosis,prrognosis,rpognosis
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prognosis - 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.
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 "prognosis"?
What does "prognosis" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "prognosis"?
How do you pronounce "prognosis"?
What is the origin of the word "prognosis"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “prognosis”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-O-G-N-O-S-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pɹɒɡˈnəʊsɪs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “prognostic” - see the side-by-side comparison. prognosis vs prognostic
- 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.