prosper

/ˈpɹɒspə(ɹ)/

//ˈpɹɒspə(ɹ)// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"prosper" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prosper” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,098. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,098
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To be successful; to succeed; to be fortunate or prosperous; to thrive; to make gain.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prosper · prosper · English

prosper · rank #16,098 · 11 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,098
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH prompting

Nearest frequency peer: prompting (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “prosper”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

prosper vs Prosser
71% similar
prosper vs prose
71% similar
prosper vs poser
71% similar

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

Key facts for prosper
PropertyValue
Headwordprosper
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈpɹɒspə(ɹ)/
Letters7
Frequency rank#16,098
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “prosper”

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

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “prompting” (#16,097), “psi” (#16,099), “quake” (#16,100). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prosper” is #16,098. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around prosper (IPA /ˈpɹɒspə(ɹ)/), averb. Corpus frequency is #16,098 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for prosper, with forms such as "porsper", "pprosper", and "propser". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "Prosser", "prose", "poser", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French prosperer, from Latin prosperō (“I render happy”), from prosperus (“prosperous”), from Proto-Italic *prosparos, from Proto-Indo-European *speh₁- (“to succeed”), whence also Latin spēs (“hope, expectation”). The correct English form is prosper, spelled P-R-O-S-P-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To be successful; to succeed; to be fortunate or prosperous; to thrive; to make gain.
  2. 2
    To grow; to increase.
  3. 3
    To favor; to render successful.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Yet his passion for her had grown fiercer than ever, and he swore to himself that he would win her back from her phantasies. She, one may believe, was ready enough to listen. As she walked with him by the Sker water his words were like musick to her ears, and Alison within doors laughed to herself and saw her devices prosper.
  2. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

Etymology

From Old French prosperer, from Latin prosperō (“I render happy”), from prosperus (“prosperous”), from Proto-Italic *prosparos, from Proto-Indo-European *speh₁- (“to succeed”), whence also Latin spēs (“hope, expectation”).

Synonyms

prosperdo welldo well for oneselfgaingrowthriveflourishsucceed

Antonyms

declinefailfallfall on hard timesgo awrygo downhillgo pear-shapedgo to potgo to shitgo to the dogsgo down the toiletgo wrong

This word in other languages

prosperar(Español)prospérer(Français)gedeihen(Deutsch)prosperar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • porsper
  • pprosper
  • propser
  • prosepr
  • prosperr
  • prospper
  • prospre
  • prossper
  • prrosper
  • prsoper
  • rposper

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prosper - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

porsper2pprosper1propser2prosepr2prosperr1prospper1prospre2prossper1
Edit distance from "prosper"

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 "prosper"?
"prosper" is spelled P-R-O-S-P-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɹɒspə(ɹ)/.
What does "prosper" mean?
As a verb, "prosper" means: To be successful; to succeed; to be fortunate or prosperous; to thrive; to make gain.
What words are commonly confused with "prosper"?
"prosper" is commonly confused with "Prosser", "prose", "poser". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "prosper"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prosper" is /ˈpɹɒspə(ɹ)/. 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 "prosper"?
From Old French prosperer, from Latin prosperō (“I render happy”), from prosperus (“prosperous”), from Proto-Italic *prosparos, from Proto-Indo-European *speh₁- (“to succeed”), whence also Latin spēs (“hope, expectation”). 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 "prosper", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

poorest#16,095marquis#16,073Siberia#16,129layered#16,061

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Pasadena11 variantsoppressive11 variantsroadside11 variantsshredded11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list