prohibitive

/pɹəˈhɪbɪtɪv/

//pɹəˈhɪbɪtɪv// adj

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

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

The verdict

“prohibitive” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,924. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,924
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Tending to prohibit, preclude, or disallow.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prohibitive · prohibitive · English

prohibitive · rank #30,924 · 16 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,924
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH priestess

Nearest frequency peer: priestess (-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 “prohibitive”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “prohibitive” 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).

prohibitive vs prohibitively
85% similar
prohibitive vs prohibition
82% similar

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

Key facts for prohibitive
PropertyValue
Headwordprohibitive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/pɹəˈhɪbɪtɪv/
Letters11
Frequency rank#30,924
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “prohibitive”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).prohibitivelands 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 “priestess” (#30,923), “popper” (#30,922), “pomp” (#30,921). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prohibitive” is #30,924. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around prohibitive (IPA /pɹəˈhɪbɪtɪv/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #30,924 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for prohibitive, with forms such as "porhibitive", "pprohibitive", and "prhoibitive". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "prohibitively", "prohibition", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English prohibitif, prohibityve, from Medieval Latin prohibitīvus, from prohibit-, past-participle stem of Latin prohibēre. By surface analysis, prohibit + -ive. The correct English form is prohibitive, spelled P-R-O-H-I-B-I-T-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Tending to prohibit, preclude, or disallow.
  2. 2
    Requiring an unreasonable or impractical effort.
  3. 3
    Costly to the extreme; beyond budget.
  4. 4
    Being the presumptive or likely winner of a contest.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Some countries are more prohibitive than others when it comes to hot topics like euthanasia and cloning.
  2. I'd like to visit Europe someday, but the cost is prohibitive right now.

Etymology

From Middle English prohibitif, prohibityve, from Medieval Latin prohibitīvus, from prohibit-, past-participle stem of Latin prohibēre. By surface analysis, prohibit + -ive.

This word in other languages

prohibitivo(Español)prohibitif(Français)verhindernd(Deutsch)proibitivo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • porhibitive
  • pprohibitive
  • prhoibitive
  • prohbiitive
  • prohhibitive
  • prohibbitive
  • prohibiitve
  • prohibitiev
  • prohibitivve
  • prohibittive
  • prohibitvie
  • prohibtiive
  • prohiibtive
  • proihbitive
  • prrohibitive
  • rpohibitive

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

porhibitive2pprohibitive1prhoibitive2prohbiitive2prohhibitive1prohibbitive1prohibiitve2prohibitiev2
Edit distance from "prohibitive"

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 "prohibitive"?
"prohibitive" is spelled P-R-O-H-I-B-I-T-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹəˈhɪbɪtɪv/.
What does "prohibitive" mean?
As an adjective, "prohibitive" means: Tending to prohibit, preclude, or disallow.
What words are commonly confused with "prohibitive"?
"prohibitive" is commonly confused with "prohibitively", "prohibition". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "prohibitive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prohibitive" is /pɹəˈhɪbɪtɪv/. 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 "prohibitive"?
From Middle English prohibitif, prohibityve, from Medieval Latin prohibitīvus, from prohibit-, past-participle stem of Latin prohibēre. By surface analysis, prohibit + -ive. 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 "prohibitive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Neanderthal#30,896naturalized#30,894shamelessly#30,966loudspeaker#30,871

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

lightsaber16 variantsKilmarnock16 variantsintegrative16 variantstopological16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list