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protest

pro·test/ˈpɹoʊ.tɛst/verb, noun

protest is spelled P-R-O-T-E-S-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables (pro·test). It appears 28 times per million words in written English, the 3,288th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, protest means “To make a strong objection” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in protest?

Letters7: P-R-O-T-E-S-T
Syllables2: pro·test
In writing28 times per million words; the 3,288th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Same letters

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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is protest?

Protest appears 28 times per million words in written English, the 3,288th 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 protest?

  • UK /ˈpɹəʊ.tɛst/
  • US /ˈpɹoʊ.tɛst/
  • /pɹəˈtɛst/

As a noun (“A formal objection, especially one by a group”): /ˈpɹəʊ.tɛst/, /ˈpɹoʊ.tɛst/.

Protest has 2 syllables, split pro·test in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-protest-noun.ogg, En-us-protest-verb.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with protest?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as protest (/oʊtɛst/).

Spelled with the same letters in another order: spotter.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of protest

  • protests present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • protesting participle, present
  • protested participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does protest mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To make a strong objection.

    How dare you, I protest!

  2. 2

    To affirm (something).

    I protest my innocence.

  3. 3

    To object to.

  4. 4

    CanadaUSTo publicly demonstrate against.

    They protested the demolition of the school.

  5. 5

    To call as a witness in affirming or denying, or to prove an affirmation; to appeal to.

  6. 6

    to make a solemn written declaration, in due form, on behalf of the holder, against all parties liable for any loss or damage to be sustained by non-acceptance or non-payment of (a bill or note). This should be made by a notary public, whose seal it is the usual practice to affix.

  7. 7

    obsoleteTo publish; to make known.

noun

  1. 1

    A formal objection, especially one by a group.

    They lodged a protest with the authorities.

  2. 2

    A collective gesture of disapproval; a demonstration.

    We held a protest in front of City Hall.

  3. 3

    The noting by a notary public of an unpaid or unaccepted bill.

  4. 4

    A written declaration, usually by the master of a ship, stating the circumstances attending loss or damage of ship or cargo, etc.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Protest in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchprotester (to make a strong objection), protestation (formal objection), manifestation (collective gesture of disapproval…)
Germanprotestieren, demonstrieren (to make a strong objection), Protest, Einspruch (formal objection), Einspruch erheben, Einwände äußern (mostly US: to object to)
Portugueseprotestar (to make a strong objection), protesto (formal objection), manifestação (collective gesture of disapproval…)
Spanishprotestar, funar, estriladera (to make a strong objection), oponerse, objetar (mostly US: to object to), proclamar (to affirm)

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 protest come from?

From the Middle English verb protesten, from Old French protester, from Latin prōtestārī, from prō + testor, from testis (“witness”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after protest