prostration
Americannoun
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the act of prostrating.
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the state of being prostrated.
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extreme mental or emotional depression or dejection.
nervous prostration.
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extreme physical weakness or exhaustion.
heat prostration.
Etymology
Origin of prostration
1520–30; < Late Latin prōstrātiōn- (stem of prōstrātiō ) a lying prone. See prostrate, -ion
Explanation
If you throw yourself at your mom's feet and beg forgiveness for breaking curfew, that's prostration. Many religious rituals include various forms of prostration, or lying face-downward in a submissive way. When a Catholic kneels to pray in church, or a Muslim bows his head to touch the ground during prayers, it's an act of prostration, or making yourself humble before a god or religious figure. In Hinduism, touching the feet of a guru (or teacher) is a sign of respect, and also a form of prostration. The source of this noun is the adjective prostrate, literally "lying face-down," from the Latin prosternere, "throw down."
Vocabulary lists containing prostration
Dracula
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"Paradise Lost" by John Milton, Book V
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Killers of the Flower Moon
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Prostration following severe shock was what the doctor called it, but it looked to me more like a touch of brain fever.
From The Tidal Wave and Other Stories by Dell, Ethel M. (Ethel May)
In severe forms of the disease the "Rest Cure" and feeding described under Nervous Prostration should be used.
From Mother's Remedies Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remedies from Mothers of the United States and Canada by Ritter, Thomas Jefferson
Prostration of credit, financial disaster, widespread distress among all classes of the community, would form the closing scenes in our career of gratuitous folly and national dishonor.
From Hidden Treasures Or, Why Some Succeed While Others Fail by Lewis, Harry A.
Prostration practised at the court of Marocco, 281.
From An Account of Timbuctoo and Housa Territories in the Interior of Africa by Jackson, James Grey
Prostration may be great, according to the violence and duration of the attack.
From Dietetics for Nurses by Proudfit, Fairfax T.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
