proscribe
/pɹəˈskɹaɪb/
"proscribe" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“proscribe” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To forbid or prohibit.
Corpus desk
Index EN-proscribe · proscribe · English
proscribe · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | proscribe |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /pɹəˈskɹaɪb/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “proscribe” in English
Rare enough to double-check
proscribe is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /pɹəˈskɹaɪb/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for proscribe, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English proscriben, from Latin prōscrībō (“to proclaim, forbid, banish”). The correct English form is proscribe, spelled P-R-O-S-C-R-I-B-E.
Definition
- 1To forbid or prohibit.
- 2To denounce.
- 3To banish or exclude.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how proscribe appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The law proscribes driving a car while intoxicated.
The word ‘ain't’ is proscribed by many authorities.
Etymology
From Middle English proscriben, from Latin prōscrībō (“to proclaim, forbid, banish”).
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.