prostrate

[ pros-treyt ]

/ ˈprɒs treɪt /

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verb (used with object), pros·trat·ed, pros·trat·ing.

to cast (oneself) face down on the ground in humility, submission, or adoration.

to lay flat, as on the ground.

to throw down level with the ground.

to overthrow, overcome, or reduce to helplessness.

to reduce to physical weakness or exhaustion.

adjective

lying flat or at full length, as on the ground.

lying face down on the ground, as in token of humility, submission, or adoration.

overthrown, overcome, or helpless: a country left prostrate by natural disasters.

physically weak or exhausted.

submissive.

utterly dejected or depressed; disconsolate.

Botany. (of a plant or stem) lying flat on the ground.

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Origin of prostrate

1350–1400; (adj.) Middle English prostrat<Latin prōstrātus, past participle of prōsternere to throw prone, equivalent to prō-pro-¹ + strā-, variant stem of sternere to stretch out + -tus past participle suffix; (v.) Middle English prostraten, derivative of the adj.

SYNONYMS FOR prostrate

6 prone, supine, recumbent.

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OTHER WORDS FROM prostrate

pros·tra·tive

[pros-truh-tiv], /ˈprɒs trə tɪv/, adjectivepros·tra·tor, nounun·pros·trat·ed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH prostrate

1. prone, prostate, prostrate , supine2. prostate, prostrate

Words nearby prostrate

prostitute, prostitution, prostomiate, prostomium, prostoon, prostrate, prostration, prostyle, prosumer, prosy, prosyllogism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for prostrate

Prostrate and helpless under the paw of the lion is a monkey with the face of Grady.
The History of the Nineteenth Century in Caricature|Arthur Bartlett Maurice
Prostrate before the King, he seemingly lived but for his smile.
Told on the Pagoda|Mimosa
Prostrate between two rocks lying across the path, her wild flight came to an end.
The Gilded Man|Clifford Smyth
Prostrate upon my knees I daily prayed for deliverance; but my prayers were not heard.
Letters from Spain|Joseph Blanco White

Prostrate she lay on the bodies of an old man and old woman, who had been put to death without mercy by the miscreants.
Bakemono Yashiki (The Haunted House)|James S. De Benneville

British Dictionary definitions for prostrate

prostrate

adjective (ˈprɒstreɪt)

lying with the face downwards, as in submission

exhausted physically or emotionally

helpless or defenceless

(of a plant) growing closely along the ground

verb (prɒˈstreɪt) (tr)

to bow or cast (oneself) down, as in submission

to lay or throw down flat, as on the ground

to make helpless or defenceless

to make exhausted

Derived forms of prostrate

prostration, noun

Word Origin for prostrate

C14: from Latin prōsternere to throw to the ground, from prō- before + sternere to lay low

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for prostrate

prostrate

[ prŏs′trāt′ ]

Growing flat along the ground. Creeping jenny, pennyroyal, and many species of ivy have a prostrate growth habit.

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