SYNONYMS | EXAMPLES | WORD ORIGIN adjective having a natural inclination or tendency to something; disposed; liable: to be prone to anger.
having the front or ventral part downward; lying face downward.
lying flat; prostrate.
having a downward direction or slope.
having the palm downward, as the hand.
Origin of prone 1 1350–1400; Middle English < Latin prōnus turned or leaning forward, inclined downward, disposed, prone
Related forms prone·ly , adverb prone·ness , noun noun a sermon or a brief hortatory introduction to a sermon, usually delivered at a service at which the Eucharist is celebrated.
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Origin of prone 2 First recorded in 1660–70, prone is from the French word prône grill, grating (separating chancel from nave); so called because notices and addresses were delivered there
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for prone devoted ,
exposed ,
susceptible ,
inclined ,
apt ,
sensitive ,
willing ,
ready ,
flat ,
horizontal ,
level ,
prostrate ,
recumbent ,
supine ,
decumbent ,
procumbent ,
resupine ,
bent ,
disposed ,
given Examples from the Web for prone Contemporary Examples of prone That gave a huge advantage to the sunny Republican prone to hugging supporters.
Some kids are prone to letting their minds wander and daydreaming.
This style of woodfire cooking is prone to sudden fluctuations in temperature due to the subtleties and different sizes of wood.
The candidate formerly known as Scott Fistler, 38, refuses to say if he is actually Hispanic and is prone to wearing fedoras.
She turns in dud stories, misses deadlines, and is prone to occasionally sleeping with her young, struggling musician sources.
Historical Examples of prone Youth is prone to endow its opinions with all the dignity of certain knowledge.
All, both rulers and ruled, are men, and prone to follow after their lusts.
The weight which had crushed the bush down had been a prone , dead weight.
All around him he saw the prone bodies of his men, naked to the view of all and sundry.
I had rather dreaded the oath which his lordship is prone to use lightly.
British Dictionary definitions for prone adjective lying flat or face downwards; prostrate
sloping or tending downwards
having an inclination to do something
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Derived Forms pronely , adverb proneness , noun Word Origin for prone C14: from Latin prōnus bent forward, from pro- 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for prone adj. c.1400, "naturally inclined to something, apt, liable," from Latin pronus "bent forward, leaning forward, bent over," figuratively "inclined to, disposed," perhaps from adverbial form of pro- "before, for, instead of" (see pro- ) + ending as in infernus , externus . Meaning "lying face-down" is first recorded 1570s. Literal and figurative senses both were in Latin; figurative is older in English. Related: Proneness .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
adj. Lying with the front or face downward.
Having a tendency; inclined.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
