prophylactic
pro·phy·lac·tic/pɹɒfəˈlæktɪk/noun, adjective
prophylactic is spelled P-R-O-P-H-Y-L-A-C-T-I-C: 12 letters and 4 syllables (pro·phy·lac·tic). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,633rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, prophylactic means “A medicine which preserves or defends against disease; a preventive” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of prophylactic is prophylactics.
How many letters and syllables are in prophylactic?
| Letters | 12: P-R-O-P-H-Y-L-A-C-T-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: pro·phy·lac·tic |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 47,633rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is prophylactic?
Prophylactic appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,633rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce prophylactic?
- UK /pɹɒfəˈlæktɪk/
Prophylactic has 4 syllables, split pro·phy·lac·tic in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-prophylactic.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of prophylactic
- prophylactics plural
- more prophylactic comparative
- most prophylactic superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does prophylactic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A medicine which preserves or defends against disease; a preventive.
- 2
USA prophylactic condom.
- 3
Any device or mechanism intended to prevent harmful consequences.
The securities laws are a prophylactic against stock fraud.
adjective
- 1
Serving to prevent or protect against an undesired effect, especially disease or pregnancy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Prophylactic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense serving to prevent or protect:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | prophylactique |
| German | prophylaktisch |
| Portuguese | profiláctico |
| Spanish | profiláctico |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does prophylactic come from?
From Latin prophylacticus, from Ancient Greek προφυλακτικός (prophulaktikós, “prophylactic”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).