reprehend
/ˌɹɛpɹəˈhɛnd/
"reprehend" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“reprehend” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To criticize, to reprove.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | reprehend |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˌɹɛpɹəˈhɛnd/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “reprehend” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for reprehend is 9 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌɹɛpɹəˈhɛnd/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To criticize, to reprove.".
reprehend has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin reprehendō (“I hold back, check, blame”), from re- (“back”) + prehendō (“I hold, seize”). Compare French reprendre (“to reprove”). The correct English form is reprehend, spelled R-E-P-R-E-H-E-N-D.
Definition
- 1To criticize, to reprove.
Etymology
From Latin reprehendō (“I hold back, check, blame”), from re- (“back”) + prehendō (“I hold, seize”). Compare French reprendre (“to reprove”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “reprehend”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-P-R-E-H-E-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌɹɛpɹəˈhɛnd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.