prohibitively

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

adv

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“prohibitively” has 20 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #46,118. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#46,118
frequency rank, English: 4,417
“P” headwords: 20
tracked misspellings: 1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a prohibitive manner.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prohibitively · prohibitively · English

prohibitively · rank #46,118 · 20 variants · 1 confusable

FREQ-MID #46,118
LEN-MEGA 13 letters
VOW-6 6 vowels
CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
VAR-HIGH 20 variants
BOOK-MID 4,417
PHOTO-FINISH proximate

Nearest frequency peer: proximate (+2 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.

plucky

53,890
Pocock

53,889
preposition

53,888
prohibitive…

53,883
proximate

53,881
puller

53,880

What this shows “prohibitively” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

prohibitively vs prohibitive

85% similar

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

Key facts for prohibitively
Property	Value
Headword	prohibitively
Language	English
Part of speech	Adverb
Letters	13
Frequency rank	#46,118
Misspellings tracked	20
Confusable pairs	1
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “prohibitively”

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

#46,118

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

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “proximate” (#46,120), “puller” (#46,121), “preposition” (#46,113). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prohibitively” is #46,118. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 20 spelling variants around prohibitively, anadverb. Corpus frequency is #46,118 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 20 likely wrong-spelling variants for prohibitively, with forms such as "porhibitively", "pprohibitively", and "prhoibitively". 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, "prohibitive", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From prohibitive + -ly. The correct English form is prohibitively, spelled P-R-O-H-I-B-I-T-I-V-E-L-Y.

Definition

1
In a prohibitive manner.
2
To a prohibitive extent.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

a prohibitively expensive gift

Etymology

From prohibitive + -ly.

This word in other languages

prohibitivamente(Español)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

porhibitively
pprohibitively
prhoibitively
prohbiitively
prohhibitively
prohibbitively
prohibiitvely
prohibitievly
prohibitivelly
prohibitivelyy
prohibitiveyl
prohibitivley
prohibitivvely
prohibittively
prohibitviely
prohibtiively
prohiibtively
proihbitively
prrohibitively
rpohibitively

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "prohibitively"

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 "prohibitively"?

"prohibitively" is spelled P-R-O-H-I-B-I-T-I-V-E-L-Y.

What does "prohibitively" mean?

As an adverb, "prohibitively" means: In a prohibitive manner.

What words are commonly confused with "prohibitively"?

"prohibitively" is commonly confused with "prohibitive". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

What is the origin of the word "prohibitively"?

From prohibitive + -ly. 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 "prohibitively", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

rapprochement#46,132 scintillating#46,164 hydrochloride#45,984 circumscribed#46,379

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (20 here; floor ≥5).

stratigraphy20 variants hydrochloric20 variants confidentially20 variants encapsulation20 variants