noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/pɹəʊˈnɔɪə/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/pɹoʊˈnɔɪə/
rhymes with -ɔɪə
1
noun
Meaning 1
Divine providence, foreknowledge, foresight.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
An imperial grant to an individual of temporary fiscal rights in the form of land, incomes or taxes from land, fishing rights, etc., sometimes carrying with it an obligation of military service.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, historical, uncountable
Qualifier: Byzantine Empire
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A belief (sometimes regarded as irrational) that people conspire to do one good.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Topics: human-sciences, psychology, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: paranoia
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek πρόνοιᾰ (prónoiă, “foreknowledge, foresight; providence; form of land grant”), from πρόνοος (prónoos, “careful, prudent”) + -ῐᾰ (-ĭă, suffix forming nouns). πρόνοος is derived from προ- (pro-, prefix indicating a coming forth) + νόος (nóos, “the mind; act of the mind”). The English word is cognate with Latin pronoea (“providence”). The plural form pronoiae is probably a modification of Latin pronoeae, while pronoiai is from Ancient Greek πρόνοιαι (prónoiai).
From pro- + (para)noia, coined by American sociologist Fred H. Goldner in a paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Social Problems in August 1981. A version of this paper, entitled “Pronoia”, was published in the journal Social Problems in October 1982: see the quotation.
Across languages
Translations
26 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Greek:
πρόνοια
(prónoia)
— divine providence, foreknowledge, foresight — see also foreknowledge, providence
Ancient Greek:
πρόνοιᾰ
(prónoiă)
— divine providence, foreknowledge, foresight — see also foreknowledge, providence
Latin:
pronoea
— divine providence, foreknowledge, foresight — see also foreknowledge, providence
Bulgarian:
прония
(pronija)
— imperial grant
Czech:
pronie
— imperial grant
Finnish:
pronoia
— imperial grant
French:
pronoia
— imperial grant
German:
Pronoia
— imperial grant
Greek:
πρόνοια
(prónoia)
— imperial grant
Ancient Greek:
πρόνοιᾰ
(prónoiă)
— imperial grant
Italian:
pronoia
— imperial grant
Japanese:
プロノイア
— imperial grant
Lithuanian:
pronija
— imperial grant
Polish:
pronoja
— imperial grant
Portuguese:
pronoia
— imperial grant
Russian:
про́ния
(prónija)
— imperial grant
Serbo-Croatian:
prȏnija
— imperial grant
Serbo-Croatian:
пронија
— imperial grant
Slovene:
pronoja
— imperial grant
Spanish:
pronoia
— imperial grant
Turkish:
pronoia
— imperial grant
French:
pronoïa
— belief that people conspire to do one good
Hebrew:
פרונויה
— belief that people conspire to do one good
Persian:
پرونویا
— belief that people conspire to do one good
Romanian:
pronoia
— belief that people conspire to do one good
Spanish:
pronoia
— belief that people conspire to do one good