prohibition

/ˌpɹəʊ(h)ɪˈbɪʃən/

//ˌpɹəʊ(h)ɪˈbɪʃən// noun

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

"prohibition" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prohibition” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,111. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,111
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
17
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An act of prohibiting, forbidding, disallowing, or proscribing something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prohibition · prohibition · English

prohibition · rank #10,111 · 17 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #10,111
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH proclaimed

Nearest frequency peer: proclaimed (-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 “prohibition”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “prohibition” 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).

prohibition vs prohibitive
82% similar

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

Key facts for prohibition
PropertyValue
Headwordprohibition
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌpɹəʊ(h)ɪˈbɪʃən/
Letters11
Frequency rank#10,111
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “prohibition”

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).prohibitionlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “proclaimed” (#10,110), “prop” (#10,112), “presenter” (#10,109). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prohibition” is #10,111. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around prohibition (IPA /ˌpɹəʊ(h)ɪˈbɪʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,111 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for prohibition, with forms such as "porhibition", "pprohibition", and "prhoibition". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "prohibitive", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Anglo-Norman and Old French prohibicion, from Latin prohibitiō. By surface analysis, prohibit + -ion. The correct English form is prohibition, spelled P-R-O-H-I-B-I-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    An act of prohibiting, forbidding, disallowing, or proscribing something.
  2. 2
    A law prohibiting the manufacture or sale of alcohol.
  3. 3
    A period of time when specific socially disapproved consumables are considered controlled substances.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. By its terms, the Twenty-Second Amendment bars only the election of two-term Presidents, and this prohibition would not prevent someone who had twice been elected President from succeeding to the office after having been elected or appointed Vice President. Broader language providing that no such person "shall be chosen or serve as President . . . or be e…
  2. But the prohibition on active advocacy and participation left a wide margin of allowable activity and was open to interpretation.

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman and Old French prohibicion, from Latin prohibitiō. By surface analysis, prohibit + -ion.

Synonyms

forbode

Antonyms

permission

This word in other languages

prohibición(Español)prohibition(Français)Verbot(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • porhibition
  • pprohibition
  • prhoibition
  • prohbiition
  • prohhibition
  • prohibbition
  • prohibiiton
  • prohibision
  • prohibitino
  • prohibitionn
  • prohibitoin
  • prohibittion
  • prohibtiion
  • prohiibtion
  • proihbition
  • prrohibition
  • rpohibition

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

porhibition2pprohibition1prhoibition2prohbiition2prohhibition1prohibbition1prohibiiton2prohibision1
Edit distance from "prohibition"

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 "prohibition"?
"prohibition" is spelled P-R-O-H-I-B-I-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌpɹəʊ(h)ɪˈbɪʃən/.
What does "prohibition" mean?
As a noun, "prohibition" means: An act of prohibiting, forbidding, disallowing, or proscribing something.
What words are commonly confused with "prohibition"?
"prohibition" is commonly confused with "prohibitive". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "prohibition"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prohibition" is /ˌpɹəʊ(h)ɪˈbɪʃən/. 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 "prohibition"?
From Anglo-Norman and Old French prohibicion, from Latin prohibitiō. By surface analysis, prohibit + -ion. 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 "prohibition", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

recognizing#10,114theological#10,143ideological#10,063billionaire#10,168

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

calculation17 variantscancellation17 variantsembarrassment17 variantsdesignation17 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list