prophylaxis

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

/pɹɔfɪˈlæksɪs/

//pɹɔfɪˈlæksɪs// noun

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

The verdict

“prophylaxis” has 18 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #47,848. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#47,848
frequency rank, English: 4,417
“P” headwords: 18
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Prevention of, or protective treatment for, disease.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prophylaxis · prophylaxis · English

prophylaxis · rank #47,848 · 18 variants · 0 confusables

FREQ-MID #47,848
LEN-MEGA 11 letters
VOW-4 4 vowels
CONFUS-0 No pairs
VAR-HIGH 18 variants
BOOK-MID 4,417
PHOTO-FINISH prophylactic

Nearest frequency peer: prophylactic (-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.

profiler

52,156
proofread

52,155
prophylactic

52,154
prophylaxis

52,153
psh

52,151
pullout

52,149

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

Key facts for prophylaxis
Property	Value
Headword	prophylaxis
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/pɹɔfɪˈlæksɪs/
Letters	11
Frequency rank	#47,848
Misspellings tracked	18
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “prophylaxis”

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

#47,848

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

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “prophylactic” (#47,847), “proofread” (#47,846), “psh” (#47,850). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prophylaxis” is #47,848. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 18 spelling variants around prophylaxis (IPA /pɹɔfɪˈlæksɪs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #47,848 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for prophylaxis, with forms such as "porphylaxis", "pprophylaxis", and "prohpylaxis". 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. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin, from Ancient Greek πρό (pró, “before”) + φύλαξις (phúlaxis, “a watching, guarding”). The correct English form is prophylaxis, spelled P-R-O-P-H-Y-L-A-X-I-S.

Definition

1
Prevention of, or protective treatment for, disease.
2
A move or strategy that frustrates an opponent's plan or tactic.

Etymology

From Latin, from Ancient Greek πρό (pró, “before”) + φύλαξις (phúlaxis, “a watching, guarding”).

This word in other languages

profilaxis(Español)prophylaxie(Français)Prophylaxe(Deutsch)profilaxia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

porphylaxis
pprophylaxis
prohpylaxis
prophhylaxis
prophlyaxis
prophyalxis
prophylaixs
prophylaxiss
prophylaxsi
prophylaxxis
prophyllaxis
prophylxais
prophyylaxis
propphylaxis
propyhlaxis
prpohylaxis
prrophylaxis
rpophylaxis

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prophylaxis - 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 "prophylaxis"

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 "prophylaxis"?

"prophylaxis" is spelled P-R-O-P-H-Y-L-A-X-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹɔfɪˈlæksɪs/.

What does "prophylaxis" mean?

As a noun, "prophylaxis" means: Prevention of, or protective treatment for, disease.

What are common misspellings of "prophylaxis"?

Common misspellings include "porphylaxis", "pprophylaxis", "prohpylaxis", "prophhylaxis", "prophlyaxis". The correct spelling is "prophylaxis".

How do you pronounce "prophylaxis"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prophylaxis" is /pɹɔfɪˈlæksɪs/. 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 "prophylaxis"?

From Latin, from Ancient Greek πρό (pró, “before”) + φύλαξις (phúlaxis, “a watching, guarding”). 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 "prophylaxis", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

radiography#47,856 predominate#47,839 peacekeeper#47,818 Paleolithic#47,812

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (18 here; floor ≥5).

steeplechase18 variants memorization18 variants sympathizer18 variants laparoscopic18 variants