proscription
/pɹəˈskɹɪp.ʃən/
"proscription" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“proscription” is an uncommon English word, ranked #97,460 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #97,460
- frequency rank, English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A prohibition.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | proscription |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pɹəˈskɹɪp.ʃən/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #97,460 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “proscription” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for proscription is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɹəˈskɹɪp.ʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #97,460 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.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for proscription, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English proscripcion, from Latin prōscrīptiō, from prōscrībō (originally "publish in writing"), from prō- and scrībō (“write”). The correct English form is proscription, spelled P-R-O-S-C-R-I-P-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1A prohibition.
- 2Decree of condemnation toward one or more persons, especially in the Roman antiquity.
- 3The act of proscribing, or its result.
- 4A decree or law that prohibits.
Etymology
From Middle English proscripcion, from Latin prōscrīptiō, from prōscrībō (originally "publish in writing"), from prō- and scrībō (“write”).
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); 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
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Using “proscription”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-O-S-C-R-I-P-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pɹəˈskɹɪp.ʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.