Basic Details
Word: Prospectus
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A printed booklet or document that describes a school, college or company and what it offers, to attract students or investors.
Synonyms: brochure, booklet, catalogue
Word origin: From Latin prospectus, a view or outlook, from prospicere, to look forward.
How to Spell Prospectus
Syllables: pro - spec - tus
Tricky part: Prospectus finishes with tus. Anyone used to words like famous may slip in an o and write prospectous.
Watch out for: prospectous, prospectis, prospektus
Memory tip: A prospectus tells you what to expect: pro + spec (as in inspect) + tus. You inspect it before choosing a college.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Arjun read the college prospectus twice before choosing his course.
Example 2: The company's prospectus explained how it planned to use the money it raised.
Example 3: Every parent at the open day was handed a glossy prospectus.
Fun Fact
The plural is prospectuses. It does not change to prospecti, even though the word is Latin.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. questionaire 2. prospectus 3. bulletine 4. memorandam
a) a short official news report
b) a set of written questions used to collect information
c) a written note kept as a record
d) a booklet describing a school, college or company
Show answer
d) a booklet describing a school, college or company. Questionnaire has two n's, bulletin has no final e and memorandum ends in um; prospectus is the clean one.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
prospectous
a) c
b) t
c) u
d) o
Show answer
d) o. The word ends in tus; the o borrowed from ous endings is the letter that should go.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word prospectus as used in the sentence:
Before the admission interview, Kavya studied the school prospectus to learn about its science labs.
a) report card
b) uniform
c) timetable
d) brochure
Show answer
d) brochure. A brochure is an information booklet, which is what a school prospectus is.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A company might publish a prospectus when it wants to ____.
a) change its staff uniform
b) close down its offices
c) repaint its factory
d) attract people to invest in it
Show answer
d) attract people to invest in it
2. Which is the correct plural of prospectus?
a) prospectus's
b) prospecti
c) prospectuses
d) prospectae
Show answer
c) prospectuses
