prosperous

/ˈpɹɑs.pə.ɹəs/

//ˈpɹɑs.pə.ɹəs// adj

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

"prosperous" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prosperous” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,046. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,046
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Characterized by success.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prosperous · prosperous · English

prosperous · rank #13,046 · 15 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #13,046
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH proportional

Nearest frequency peer: proportional (-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 “prosperous”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “prosperous” 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).

prosperous vs prospectus
80% similar

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

Key facts for prosperous
PropertyValue
Headwordprosperous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈpɹɑs.pə.ɹəs/
Letters10
Frequency rank#13,046
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “prosperous”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).prosperouslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “proportional” (#13,045), “quarry” (#13,047), “prolific” (#13,044). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prosperous” is #13,046. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around prosperous (IPA /ˈpɹɑs.pə.ɹəs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #13,046 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for prosperous, with forms such as "porsperous", "pprosperous", and "propserous". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "prospectus", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French prospereus, from Old French prosperer, from Latin prosperō (“to cause to succeed”), from Old Latin pro spere (“according to expectation”), from pro (“for”) + spes (“hope”). The correct English form is prosperous, spelled P-R-O-S-P-E-R-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Characterized by success.
  2. 2
    Well off; affluent.
  3. 3
    Favorable.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Trading Babe Ruth was far more prosperous for the Yankees than for the Red Sox.
  2. He was raised in a very prosperous household.

Etymology

From Middle French prospereus, from Old French prosperer, from Latin prosperō (“to cause to succeed”), from Old Latin pro spere (“according to expectation”), from pro (“for”) + spes (“hope”).

Synonyms

successfulaffluentrichwell offwell-to-dowealthyfavorableluckyauspiciousbustlingflourishingfortunateprivilegedprosperousroaringthrivingwealful

Antonyms

failedimprosperousspeedlessunfortunateunsuccessfulunthriving

This word in other languages

rico(Español)prospère(Français)blühend(Deutsch)próspero(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • porsperous
  • pprosperous
  • propserous
  • proseprous
  • prospeorus
  • prosperosu
  • prosperouss
  • prosperrous
  • prosperuos
  • prospperous
  • prospreous
  • prossperous
  • prrosperous
  • prsoperous
  • rposperous

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prosperous - 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.

porsperous2pprosperous1propserous2proseprous2prospeorus2prosperosu2prosperouss1prosperrous1
Edit distance from "prosperous"

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 "prosperous"?
"prosperous" is spelled P-R-O-S-P-E-R-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɹɑs.pə.ɹəs/.
What does "prosperous" mean?
As an adjective, "prosperous" means: Characterized by success.
What words are commonly confused with "prosperous"?
"prosperous" is commonly confused with "prospectus". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "prosperous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prosperous" is /ˈpɹɑs.pə.ɹəs/. 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 "prosperous"?
From Middle French prospereus, from Old French prosperer, from Latin prosperō (“to cause to succeed”), from Old Latin pro spere (“according to expectation”), from pro (“for”) + spes (“hope”). 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 "prosperous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

respecting#13,050Portsmouth#13,039pertaining#13,036suppressed#13,067

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

scholarly15 variantsadmiration15 variantsLancashire15 variantsaesthetics15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list