prosperous
pros·per·ous/ˈpɹɑs.pə.ɹəs/adjective
prosperous is spelled P-R-O-S-P-E-R-O-U-S: 10 letters and 3 syllables (pros·per·ous). It appears 4.0 times per million words in written English, the 12,940th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, prosperous means “Characterized by success” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in prosperous?
| Letters | 10: P-R-O-S-P-E-R-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: pros·per·ous |
| In writing | 4.0 times per million words; the 12,940th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is prosperous?
Prosperous appears 4.0 times per million words in written English, the 12,940th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce prosperous?
- US /ˈpɹɑs.pə.ɹəs/
- UK /ˈpɹɒs.p(ə.)ɹəs/
Prosperous has 3 syllables, split pros·per·ous in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-prosperous.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of prosperous
- more prosperous comparative
- most prosperous superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does prosperous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Characterized by success.
Trading Babe Ruth was far more prosperous for the Yankees than for the Red Sox.
- 2
Well off; affluent.
He was raised in a very prosperous household.
- 3
Favorable.
He chose a prosperous lottery number that evening.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Prosperous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | prospère, florissant, réussissant , riche , favorable |
| German | blühend, florierend, erfolgreich , wohlhabend, reich , günstig |
| Portuguese | próspero |
| Spanish | rico |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does prosperous come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).