Prospective

How to spell prospective

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce prospective

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does prospective mean?

1. adjectiveLikely to become or expected to be something in the future; under consideration.

Prospective in a sentence

• The agent showed the house to several prospective buyers.

• Every prospective employee must complete a background check.

Where does prospective come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin prospicere, meaning 'to look forward' or 'to look out into the distance', formed from pro 'forward' and specere 'to look'. The related Latin noun prospectus referred to a view or an outlook, and from the same root English also gained 'prospect' and 'prospectus'. By the seventeenth century 'prospective' had settled into English as an adjective describing things that lie ahead or are expected to happen, especially people or situations under consideration for the future. The shared spect root explains why it is so often muddled with 'perspective', which uses per 'through' rather than pro 'forward'. Keeping the pro- at the front in mind, looking ahead, is the surest guard against that classic mix-up.

How the word is built

• pro- (forward)
• spect (from spectare/specere: to look)
• -ive (adjective suffix)