prohibitive

Name: prohibitive, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/pɹəˈhɪbɪtɪv/

//pɹəˈhɪbɪtɪv// adj

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“prohibitive” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #30,924 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#30,924
frequency rank, English: 11
letters: 16
tracked misspellings: 2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Tending to prohibit, preclude, or disallow.

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
Property	Value
Headword	prohibitive
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
IPA	/pɹəˈhɪbɪtɪv/
Letters	11
Frequency rank	#30,924
Misspellings tracked	16
Confusable pairs	2
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “prohibitive” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). prohibitive lands here:

#30,924

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for prohibitive is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɹəˈhɪbɪtɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #30,924 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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

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.

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.

Using “prohibitive”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is P-R-O-H-I-B-I-T-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /pɹəˈhɪbɪtɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “prohibitively” - see the side-by-side comparison. prohibitive vs prohibitively
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.