Prostrate

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ˈpɹɒstɹeɪt/
• GenAm IPA: /ˈpɹɑːstɹeɪt/

Origin

Latin prostratus, past participle of prosternere ("to prostrate").

Full definition of prostrate

Adjective

1. Lying flat, facedown.
• MiltonProstrate fall
  Before him reverent, and there confess
  Humbly our faults.
• 1945, Winston Churchill, :Finally almost the whole world was combined against the evil-doers, who are now prostrate before us.
2. Emotionally devastated.I told him you was prostrate with grief. — Mammy to Scarlett, Gone With the Wind.
3. Physically incapacitated from environmental exposure or debilitating disease.He was prostrate from the extreme heat.
4. (botany) Trailing on the ground; procumbent.

Antonyms

• (lying flat, facedown) supine

Verb

1. (to lie flat or facedown)(Often reflexive) To lie flat or facedown.
2. To throw oneself down in submission (also figuratively).
3. To cause to lie down, to flatten; (figuratively) to overcome or overpower.
• 1835, w, s:The Partisan, How many of these mighty pines were to be prostrated under that approaching tempest!

Usage notes

Prostrate and prostate are often confused, in spelling if not in meaning.

Related terms

• prostration