prostrate

[ pros-treyt ]

verb (used with object)

, pros·trat·ed, pros·trat·ing.

1. to cast (oneself ) face down on the ground in humility, submission, or adoration.
2. to lay flat, as on the ground.
3. to throw down level with the ground.
4. to overthrow, overcome, or reduce to helplessness.
5. to reduce to physical weakness or exhaustion.

adjective

1. lying flat or at full length, as on the ground.

   Synonyms: recumbent, supine, prone

2. lying face down on the ground, as in token of humility, submission, or adoration.
3. overthrown, overcome, or helpless:

   a country left prostrate by natural disasters.

4. physically weak or exhausted.
5. submissive.
6. utterly dejected or depressed; disconsolate.
7. Botany. (of a plant or stem) lying flat on the ground.

prostrate

adjective

1. lying with the face downwards, as in submission
2. exhausted physically or emotionally
3. helpless or defenceless
4. (of a plant) growing closely along the ground

verb

1. to bow or cast (oneself) down, as in submission
2. to lay or throw down flat, as on the ground
3. to make helpless or defenceless
4. to make exhausted

prostrate

/ prŏs′trāt′ /

1. Growing flat along the ground. Creeping jenny, pennyroyal, and many species of ivy have a prostrate growth habit.

Derived Forms

• prosˈtration, noun

Other Words From

• pros·tra·tive [pros, -tr, uh, -tiv], adjective
• prostra·tor noun
• un·prostrat·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of prostrate¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; (for the adjective) Middle English prostrat, from Latin prōstrātus “lying flat,” past participle of prōsternere “to lie flat, knock down, overthrow,” from prō- pro- ¹ + sternere “to lay out, stretch, spread”; verb derivative of the adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of prostrate¹

C14: from Latin prōsternere to throw to the ground, from prō- before + sternere to lay low

Example Sentences

Mules pulled ramshackle carts, children played outside mud houses, burqa-shrouded women lay prostrate and begging in the middle of dusty roads.

From Ozy

Prostrate she fell on the floor; but hearing a waiter say, 'Up stairs, madam, you may have a room to yourself.'

From Project Gutenberg

Prostrate or ascending, much branched; leaves round-obovate to rhomboidal, 3–10 long.

From Project Gutenberg

Prostrate beside him, Sembobitis and Menkera worshipped, their faces touching the stone.

From Project Gutenberg

Prostrate under the dread of death, her innermost nature—stripped of the concealments of her later life—was revealed to view.

From Project Gutenberg

Prostrate by his side lay the prince, in a state of insensibility, the blood faintly oozing from a wound in his arm.

From Project Gutenberg