prostrate

[pros-treyt]

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.

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.

Related formspros·tra·tive

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

Can be confusedprone prostate prostrate supineprostate prostrate

Synonyms for prostrate

6. prone, supine, recumbent.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for prostrating

kneel, beaten, overwhelmed, reduced, paralyzed, open, overcome, wearied, drained, depressed, incapacitated, dejected, spent, exhausted, crippled, tuckered, fallen, frazzled, fagged, kowtow

Examples from the Web for prostrating

Contemporary Examples of prostrating

Prostrating myself on the examining table, I tried not to flinch as she zapped my scores of clogged pores.
My Odyssey Into Extreme Dermatology
Elizabeth Hayt
April 15, 2009

Historical Examples of prostrating

Prostrating himself on the ground, he asked the spirits name.
A History of Chinese Literature
Herbert A. Giles
Prostrating himself he announced his purpose to make the attempt.
Bakemono Yashiki (The Haunted House)
James S. De Benneville
Prostrating themselves before Juanna and Otter they remained plunged in silence.
The People Of The Mist
H. Rider Haggard
Prostrating himself but once, and with scanty ceremony, he stood erect to deliver his tidings in frank bluff tones.
Sarchedon
G. J. (George John) Whyte-Melville
Prostrating himself before the pacha, he then rose, and folding his arms over his breast, awaited his commands in silence.
The Pacha of Many Tales
Frederick Marryat

British Dictionary definitions for prostrating

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 Formsprostration, 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

Word Origin and History for prostrating

prostrate

adj.

mid-14c., "lying face-down" (in submission, worship, etc.), from Latin prostratus, past participle of prosternere "strew in front, throw down," from pro- "forth" (see pro-) + sternere "to spread out," from PIE root *stere- "to spread, extend, stretch out" (see structure (n.)). Figurative use from 1590s. General sense of "laid out, knocked flat" is from 1670s.

prostrate

early 15c., prostraten, "prostrate oneself," from prostrate (adj.). Related: Prostrated; prostrating.

prostrating in Science

prostrate

[prŏs′trāt′]

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