prose
Americannoun
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the ordinary form of spoken or written language, without metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry or verse.
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matter-of-fact, commonplace, or dull expression, quality, discourse, etc.
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Liturgy. a hymn sung after the gradual, originating from a practice of setting words to the jubilatio of the alleluia.
adjective
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of, in, or pertaining to prose.
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commonplace; dull; prosaic.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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spoken or written language as in ordinary usage, distinguished from poetry by its lack of a marked metrical structure
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a passage set for translation into a foreign language
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commonplace or dull discourse, expression, etc
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RC Church a hymn recited or sung after the gradual at Mass
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(modifier) written in prose
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(modifier) matter-of-fact
verb
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to write or say (something) in prose
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(intr) to speak or write in a tedious style
Other Word Forms
- proselike adjective
Etymology
Origin of prose
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”
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.
At times, however, the prose can feel overstuffed, as if mirroring the abundance of the dictionary it celebrates.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
The research suggests AI writing’s fluency and professionalism can be misread as credibility, warning companies against equating prose quality with case quality.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
“Amongst Women” depicts this claustrophobic domain in restrained prose that is infused with tension when Moran marries again.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026
When he showed it to readers he trusted, they told him, “‘This isn’t a novel, it’s a screenplay in prose.’
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 2, 2026
I was on the debating society my first year and was chosen to represent the school in Afrikaans, Tsonga and English prose and poetry reading during inspection.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
