protervo

[pɾoˈt̪eɾβ̞o]

/[pɾoˈt̪eɾβ̞o]/ adj

The verdict

“protervo” is uncommon Spanish (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency Spanish
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Perverso, con obstinación, insolente.

Corpus desk

Index ES-protervo · protervo · Spanish

protervo · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for protervo
PropertyValue
Headwordprotervo
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[pɾoˈt̪eɾβ̞o]
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cola larga: rango de “protervo” en español

protervoestá más allá de las 100.000 formas más frecuentes del español, en la cola de léxico especializado o poco usado donde la duda ortográfica aprieta.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

protervo is uncommon Spanish outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed [pɾoˈt̪eɾβ̞o]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Perverso, con obstinación, insolente.".

No misspelling variants are generated for protervo in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable Spanish rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct Spanish form is protervo, spelled P-R-O-T-E-R-V-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Perverso, con obstinación, insolente.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. «Pero el nuevo rey, que viene al trono con ideas precisas, con aspiraciones elevadas, fruto de su gran ilustración, destruirá el maléfico influjo de aquel espíritu protervo, vagante en la selva del alma hispana».
  2. «Y si a la sociedad es tan nocivo solo un hombre protervo y petulante, ¿qué será, ¡oh Dios!, un cuerpo colectivo hecho con levadura semejante?».

Synonyms

Antonyms

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

How do you spell "protervo"?
"protervo" is spelled P-R-O-T-E-R-V-O. The IPA pronunciation is [pɾoˈt̪eɾβ̞o].
What does "protervo" mean?
As an adjective, "protervo" means: Perverso, con obstinación, insolente.
How do you pronounce "protervo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "protervo" is [pɾoˈt̪eɾβ̞o]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "protervo" come from?
"protervo" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list