prosaic

American  

[proh-zey-ik] / proʊˈzeɪ ɪk /

Sometimes prosaical

adjective

1. commonplace or dull; matter-of-fact or unimaginative.

   a prosaic mind.

   Synonyms:

   uninteresting, tiresome, tedious, humdrum, vapid, everyday, ordinary

2. of or having the character or form of prose, the ordinary form of spoken or written language, rather than of poetry.

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prosaic British  

/ prəʊˈzeɪɪk /

adjective

1. lacking imagination

2. having the characteristics of prose

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Other Word Forms

• nonprosaic
  adjective
• nonprosaically
  adverb
• nonprosaicness
  noun
• prosaically
  adverb
• prosaicness
  noun
• unprosaic
  adjective
• unprosaical
  adjective
• unprosaically
  adverb
• unprosaicness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of prosaic

First recorded in 1650–60, prosaic is from the Late Latin word prōsaicus. See prose, -ic

Explanation

Prosaic means ordinary or dull. Most of us lead a prosaic everyday life, sometimes interrupted by some drama or crisis. This adjective is from Latin prosa, "prose," which is ordinary writing intended to communicate ideas and information. Prose is often contrasted with poetry, which usually has a more imaginative and original style.

Example Sentences

Come, now, let us be reasonable: What’s wrong with “Admin User”? Prosaic, but there’s nothing wrong with prosaic handles in a work chat.

From Slate • Aug. 4, 2020

Prosaic choices, like whether to send a child on a play date, or whether to meet a potential suitor, have become matters of life and death.

From New York Times • Mar. 27, 2020

Prosaic indeed, and much of it, one hopes, impossible campaign bluster.

From The Guardian • Nov. 12, 2016

Prosaic beginnings for what are now much more ambitious ends.

From Scientific American • Jun. 1, 2012

Prosaic and vulgar as were all these articles, in the dressmaker's imagination they became both poetized and purified.

From A Mummer's Wife by Moore, George (George Augustus)

Related Words

• banal
• drab
• everyday
• humdrum
• mundane
• workaday