prohibit

/pɹəˈhɪbɪt/

//pɹəˈhɪbɪt// verb

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

"prohibit" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prohibit” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,817. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,817
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To forbid, disallow, or proscribe officially; to make illegal or illicit.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prohibit · prohibit · English

prohibit · rank #14,817 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #14,817
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH profoundly

Nearest frequency peer: profoundly (-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 “prohibit”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “prohibit” 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).

prohibit vs prohibited
80% similar

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

Key facts for prohibit
PropertyValue
Headwordprohibit
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pɹəˈhɪbɪt/
Letters8
Frequency rank#14,817
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “prohibit”

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).prohibitlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “profoundly” (#14,816), “pronunciation” (#14,818), “procedural” (#14,815). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prohibit” is #14,817. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around prohibit (IPA /pɹəˈhɪbɪt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #14,817 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "To forbid, disallow, or proscribe officially; to make illegal or illicit.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for prohibit, with forms such as "porhibit", "pprohibit", and "prhoibit". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "prohibited", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English prohibiten, from Latin prohibeō (“I fend off, prevent, prohibit”) (through past participle prohibitus). The correct English form is prohibit, spelled P-R-O-H-I-B-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To forbid, disallow, or proscribe officially; to make illegal or illicit.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The restaurant prohibits smoking on the patio.
  2. I was prohibited to come.

Etymology

From Middle English prohibiten, from Latin prohibeō (“I fend off, prevent, prohibit”) (through past participle prohibitus).

Synonyms

prohibitbanbanishbarcriminalizedebardisallowenjoinestopforbidforspeakforesnaffleinterdictoutlawproscribetaboovetoforfend

Antonyms

admitallowapproveauthorizeconsentletpermitratifysanctionsuffertoleratewarrant

This word in other languages

prohibir(Español)interdire(Français)verbieten(Deutsch)proibir(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • porhibit
  • pprohibit
  • prhoibit
  • prohbiit
  • prohhibit
  • prohibbit
  • prohibitt
  • prohibti
  • prohiibt
  • proihbit
  • prrohibit
  • rpohibit

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prohibit - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

porhibit2pprohibit1prhoibit2prohbiit2prohhibit1prohibbit1prohibitt1prohibti2
Edit distance from "prohibit"

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 "prohibit"?
"prohibit" is spelled P-R-O-H-I-B-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹəˈhɪbɪt/.
What does "prohibit" mean?
As a verb, "prohibit" means: To forbid, disallow, or proscribe officially; to make illegal or illicit.
What words are commonly confused with "prohibit"?
"prohibit" is commonly confused with "prohibited". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "prohibit"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prohibit" is /pɹəˈhɪbɪt/. 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 "prohibit"?
From Middle English prohibiten, from Latin prohibeō (“I fend off, prevent, prohibit”) (through past participle prohibitus). 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 "prohibit", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

provoked#14,819parasite#14,805scrapped#14,832seasoned#14,833

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

nutrient12 variantsmediation12 variantsmassively12 variantssymmetry12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list