Prostrate Meaning
/ˈpɹɒstɹeɪt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjLying flat, face-down.
adjEmotionally devastated.
Sentence Examples
He lay prostrate, ready to ambush the invaders.
A junkie can be prostrate for hours, forever.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Utterly fatigued, the hiker dropped to the ground and ____ face down for several minutes.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He fell ____ on the ground before the altar in an act of deep religious devotion.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English prostrat(e) (“prostrate”, also used as the past participle of prostraten), borrowed from Latin prōstrātus, perfect passive participle of prōsternō (“to prostrate”). Participial usage up until Early Modern English.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Prostrate fall / Before him reverent, and there confess / Humbly our faults."
— 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"Those who had the privilege of approaching him, had to prostrate themselves before him in profound humility[…]"
— 1922, Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla, Zoroastrian Civilization, page 228:
"But I take the view that the statue is a cheap and cynical stunt by ministers with scant knowledge of history, whose only interest lies in greasing up to modern Indian politicians. With little or no dignity, they shamelessly prostrate themselves in the most craven way."
— 2014 July 10, Stephen Glover, “Sorry, but Gandhi statue in Westminster is a cheap stunt by ministers with scant knowledge of history greasing up to India”, in Daily Mail:
"How many of these mighty pines were to be prostrated under that approaching tempest!"
— 1835, William Gilmore Simms, The Partisan, Harper, Chapter XIV, page 175:
"Why this very minute she's prostrated with grief."
— 1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Utterly fatigued, the hiker dropped to the ground and ____ face down for several minutes.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He fell ____ on the ground before the altar in an act of deep religious devotion.