prostration

[ pro-strey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of prostrating.
2. the state of being prostrated.
3. extreme mental or emotional depression or dejection:

   nervous prostration.

4. extreme physical weakness or exhaustion:

   heat prostration.

Word History and Origins

Origin of prostration¹

1520–30; < Late Latin prōstrātiōn- (stem of prōstrātiō ) a lying prone. See prostrate, -ion

Example Sentences

Americans already know such intimate prostration in smaller everyday events: between loved ones in the moments before a major surgery, before a wedding, or after a graduation.

From Slate

She said Muslim prayer requires "prostration and for the worshipper to face a particular direction", adding there was no evidence the ban affected other faiths in the school, for example "a Christian child sitting quietly in the corner of the playground" praying.

From BBC

The financial markets were “on the verge of nervous prostration” awaiting the court’s ruling, as Joseph P. Kennedy, then chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, recounted.

From Los Angeles Times

Like the previous attempts by Parliament, assumption was described as a threat to Virginia’s independence and “a measure which...must in the course of human events, produce one or other of two evils, the prostration of agriculture at the feet of commerce, or a change in the present form of federal government, fatal to the existence of American liberty.”

From Literature

With his thick beard, heavy-rimmed glasses and a prominent bruise on his forehead from prostration in prayer, he was notoriously prickly and pedantic.

From Washington Times