proven
pro·ven/ˈpɹu.vn̩/adjective, verb
proven is spelled P-R-O-V-E-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables (pro·ven). It appears 21 times per million words in written English, the 4,076th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, proven means “Having been proved; having proved its value or truth” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in proven?
| Letters | 6: P-R-O-V-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pro·ven |
| In writing | 21 times per million words; the 4,076th 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 proven?
Proven appears 21 times per million words in written English, the 4,076th 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 proven?
- UK /ˈpɹuː.vn̩/
- UK /ˈpɹəʊ.vn̩/
- US /ˈpɹu.vn̩/
Proven has 2 syllables, split pro·ven in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Pvanp7-proven.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-proven.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-proven.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of proven
- more proven comparative
- most proven superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does proven mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having been proved; having proved its value or truth.
It's a proven fact that morphine is a more effective painkiller than acetaminophen is.
verb
- 1
past participle of prove
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Proven in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense having been proved:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | prouvé |
| Portuguese | provado |
| Spanish | probado, demostrado, comprobado |
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 proven come from?
From Scottish English, as past participle of preve, a Middle English variant of prove – compare woven (from weave) and cloven (from cleave), both of which feature -eve → -oven. Preve died out in England, but survived in Scotland, where proven developed, initially in a legal context, as in “The jury ruled that the charges were not proven.” See usage notes for historical usage patterns.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).