Phrase guide

pros and cons

noun · verb · 2 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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1

noun

Meaning 1

The positive and negative attributes of arguments.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: plural, plural-only

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

third-person singular simple present indicative of pro and con

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, indicative, present, singular, third-person

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Latin prō (“for, on behalf of”) and contrā (“against”).

Across languages

Translations

42 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مَحَاسِن وَمَسَاوِئ (maḥāsin wamasāwiʔ) — for and against
  • Catalan: el pro i el contra — for and against
  • Catalan: els pros i els contres — for and against
  • Chinese Mandarin: 優缺點 /优缺点 (yōuquēdiǎn) — for and against
  • Chinese Mandarin: 利弊 (lìbì) — for and against
  • Czech: pro a proti — for and against
  • Czech: klady a zápory — for and against
  • Danish: fordele & ulemper — for and against
  • Dutch: voordelen en nadelen — for and against
  • Finnish: hyvät ja huonot puolet — for and against
  • French: pours et contres — for and against
  • French: le pour et le contre — for and against
  • Georgian: დადებითი და უარყოფითი მხარეები (dadebiti da uarq̇opiti mxareebi) — for and against
  • Georgian: პლუსები და მინუსები (ṗlusebi da minusebi) — for and against
  • German: Für und Wider — for and against
  • German: Pro und Contra — for and against
  • German: Vor- und Nachteile — for and against
  • Greek: τα υπέρ και τα κατά (ta ypér kai ta katá) — for and against
  • Hebrew: בעד ונגד — for and against
  • Hungarian: mellette és ellene — for and against
  • Hungarian: érvek és ellenérvek — for and against
  • Indonesian: pro dan kontra — for and against
  • Italian: pro e contro — for and against
  • Japanese: 賛否 (sanpi) — for and against
  • Japanese: 長短 (chōtan) — for and against
  • Javanese: pro lan kontra — for and against
  • Korean: 장단점 (jangdanjeom) — for and against
  • Latin: pro et contra — for and against
  • Macedonian: предности и недостатоци (prednosti i nedostatoci) — for and against
  • Polish: za i przeciw — for and against
  • Polish: plusy i minusy — for and against
  • Portuguese: prós e contras — for and against
  • Russian: за и про́тив (za i prótiv) — for and against
  • Russian: плю́сы и ми́нусы (pljúsy i mínusy) — for and against
  • Spanish: el pro y el contra — for and against
  • Spanish: los pros y los contras — for and against
  • Swedish: för- och nackdelar — for and against
  • Tagalog: ayon at taliwas — for and against
  • Turkish: artılar ve eksiler — for and against
  • Turkish: avantajlar ve dezavantajlar — for and against
  • Turkish: lehte ve aleyhte olanlar — for and against
  • Ukrainian: за та про́ти (za ta próty) — for and against