/pɹəsˈkɹɪpʃən/
Say it backPrescription refers to a written order from a qualified professional authorizing a patient to receive a medication or treatment. It can also denote the act of prescribing itself, or the set of instructions accompanying a medication. In everyday use, it commonly describes medicines dispensed by pharmacists under a doctor’s directive.
"The doctor issued a prescription for antibiotics after diagnosing the infection."
"She forgot to bring her prescription to the pharmacy, so she couldn't pick up the medication."
"The new patient had to fill out a form and discuss dosage before the prescription could be written."
Pronounced prɪˈskrɪp.ʃən (PRIH-skrip-shn). The main stress falls on the second syllable: pre-SCRIP-tion. Begin with a short, lax /ɪ/ in the first syllable, then a crisp /skrip/ cluster, and finish with /ʃən/ where the 'ti' is realized as a light /t/ plus a schwa and an n. For clarity, emphasize the /skr/ blend and avoid a heavy /ti/ sound at the end. Audio references: Cambridge and Oxford dictionaries provide native speaker pronunciations; listening to Forvo or YouGlish can help you hear variations.
Common errors: inserting an extra syllable so it sounds like pre-scrip-tion with a stronger t; misplacing the stress to PRE-scription; mispronouncing the -scrip- as ‘skrip-tion’ with a heavy final /t/ or /d/. Correction: keep the primary stress on the second syllable, pronounce the /skr/ cluster clearly as /skrɪp/, and reduce the -ti- to /ʃən/ with a light, quick /ʃən/ rather than a hard -tion. Practice with minimal pairs to separate /skrɪp/ and /ʃən/ sounds.
In US and UK, the word is largely similar: /prɪˈskrɪpʃən/ with stress on the second syllable and a reduced -tion ending (/ʃən/). Australian English aligns closely, but you may hear a slightly broader vowel in the first /ɪ/ and a crisper /ʃ/ before the -ən, depending on speaker. Rhoticity does not alter the word’s core vowels, but vowel quality and flapping in casual speech can make /ɪ/ influence the following /r/ color slightly in US speakers.
The difficulty centers on the /skrɪp/ cluster following a stressed syllable and the final /ʃən/ reduction in rapid speech. The /ɪ/ in both the first and second syllables are short and lax, which can make the sequence sound like /prəskrɪpʃən/ if the tongue doesn’t stay compact around /skr/. The /t/ in -tion is typically dropped or softened to /ʃən/. Keeping the i-short vowels distinct and producing a clean, fast /skr/ onset helps avoid common sloppiness.
A distinctive feature is the /skrɪp/ onset immediately after the first syllable’s vowel, followed by the /ʃən/ ending. Many learners misplace the main stress or elongate the -tion part. Pay particular attention to the transition from /p/ to /ʃ/—don’t insert a separate /t/ sound. The final /ən/ can slip into /n/ in rapid speech; practice with slow, careful enunciation to maintain the /ʃən/ quality.
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Prescription comes from the Latin prae scriptio, from prae- ‘before’ + scribere ‘to write.’ The term originally referred to written information given beforehand. In Middle English, prescription evolved from Latin medical and legal usage to describe formal written directives from physicians. The root scrib- scribe appears in related words like inscribe, describe, and manuscript, while prae- indicates the prewritten nature of the document. Throughout the 16th–18th centuries, medical practice formalized the concept of a pharmacist issuing a medication under the authority of a physician’s written instruction, cementing the modern medical sense. By the late 19th and 20th centuries, the word broadened to include non-medical orders or rules, but in contemporary usage it predominantly signals a doctor’s written order, and more recently, the digital equivalent. The evolution reflects the transition from handwritten, formal directives to standardized, legally regulated prescriptions used in pharmacy transparent patient care.
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Help others use "prescription" correctly by contributing grammar tips, common mistakes, and context guidance.
💡 These words have similar meanings to "prescription" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "prescription"
-ion sounds
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