prose

[ prohz ]

noun

1. the ordinary form of spoken or written language, without metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry or verse.
2. matter-of-fact, commonplace, or dull expression, quality, discourse, etc.
3. Liturgy. a hymn sung after the gradual, originating from a practice of setting words to the jubilatio of the alleluia.

adjective

1. of, in, or pertaining to prose.
2. commonplace; dull; prosaic.

verb (used with object)

, prosed, pros·ing.

1. to turn into or express in prose.

verb (used without object)

, prosed, pros·ing.

1. to write or talk in a dull, matter-of-fact manner.

prose

/ prəʊz /

noun

1. spoken or written language as in ordinary usage, distinguished from poetry by its lack of a marked metrical structure
2. a passage set for translation into a foreign language
3. commonplace or dull discourse, expression, etc
4. RC Church a hymn recited or sung after the gradual at Mass
5. modifier written in prose
6. modifier matter-of-fact

verb

1. to write or say (something) in prose
2. intr to speak or write in a tedious style

Derived Forms

• ˈproseˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• proselike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of prose¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin prōsa (ōrātiō), literally, “straightforward (speech),” feminine of prōsus, prōrsus, contraction of prōversus “turned forward,” past participle of prōvertere “to turn forward,” equivalent to prō- pro- ¹ + vertere “to turn”

Word History and Origins

Origin of prose¹

C14: via Old French from Latin phrase prōsa ōrātiō straightforward speech, from prorsus prosaic, from prōvertere to turn forwards, from pro- ¹+ vertere to turn

Example Sentences

I said precisely that to Brooks and others in a small audience at Washington, DC’s Politics & Prose Bookstore on September 9, 1997, during a talk on my book Liberal Racism: How Fixating on Race Subverts the American Dream.

From Salon

Brooks and I had a drink after my Politics & Prose talk.

From Salon

The CEO of the generative-A.I. app Perplexity—which received a cease-and-desist letter from the Times last month asking it to stop using NYT prose for data-training purposes—offered to help the paper ensure that “essential coverage is available to all during the election” and requested that Sulzberger message him.

From Slate

Look at this prose: “No final decision has been made and there is no sign that McCarthy is campaigning for the coveted role,” the New York Post wrote this week, “though one person said the Californian has shown openness to being part of a second Trump administration in some capacity.”

From Slate

At the end of his article, Meyer urged his fellow Steinbeck scholars to “read Babb—if only to see for themselves the echoes of 'Grapes' that abound in her prose.”

From Salon

Related Words

• composition
• essay
• fiction
• nonfiction
• speech
• story
• text
• writing