Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Prostrate
Pros′trate
,Adj.
[L.
prostratus
, p. p. of prosternere
to prostrate; pro
before, forward + sternere
to spread out, throw down. See Stratum
.] 1.
Lying at length, or with the body extended on the ground or other surface; stretched out;
as, to sleep
. prostrate
Elyot.
Groveling and
prostrate
on yon lake of fire. Milton.
2.
Lying at mercy, as a supplicant.
Dryden.
3.
Lying in a humble, lowly, or suppliant posture.
Prostrate fall
Before him reverent, and there confess
Humbly our faults.
Before him reverent, and there confess
Humbly our faults.
Milton.
4.
(Bot.)
Trailing on the ground; procumbent.
Pros′trate
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Prostrated
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Prostrating
.] 1.
To lay fiat; to throw down; to level; to fell;
as, to
prostrate
the body; to prostrate
trees or plants. Evelyn.
2.
to overthrow; to demolish; to destroy; to deprive of efficiency; to ruin;
as, to
prostrate
a village; to prostrate
a government; to prostrate
law or justice.3.
To throw down, or cause to fall in humility or adoration; to cause to bow in humble reverence; used reflexively;
as, he
. prostrated
himselfMilman.
4.
To cause to sink totally; to deprive of strength; to reduce;
as, a person
. prostrated
by feverWebster 1828 Edition
Prostrate
PROS'TRATE
,Adj.
1.
Lying at length, or with the body extended on the ground or other surface. Groveling and prostrate on yon lake of fire.
2.
Lying at mercy, as a supplicant.3.
Lying in the posture of humility of adoration.PROS'TRATE
,Verb.
T.
1.
To throw down; to overthrow; to demolish; to ruin; as, to prostrate a village; to prostrate a government; to prostrate law or justice; to prostrate the honor of a nation.2.
To prostrate one's self, to throw one's self down or to fall in humility or adoration.3.
To bow in humble reverence.4.
To sink totally; to reduce; as, to prostrate strength.Definition 2024
prostrate
prostrate
See also: prostate
English
Adjective
prostrate (not comparable)
- Lying flat, facedown.
- Milton
- Prostrate fall / Before him reverent, and there confess / Humbly our faults.
- 1945, Sir Winston Churchill, VE Day speech from House of Commons:
- Finally almost the whole world was combined against the evil-doers, who are now prostrate before us.
- Milton
- Emotionally devastated.
- I told him you was prostrate with grief. — Mammy to Scarlett, Gone With the Wind.
- Physically incapacitated from environmental exposure or debilitating disease.
- He was prostrate from the extreme heat.
- (botany) Trailing on the ground; procumbent.
Antonyms
- (lying flat, facedown): supine
Translations
lying flat, facedown
Verb
prostrate (third-person singular simple present prostrates, present participle prostrating, simple past and past participle prostrated)
- (Often reflexive) To lie flat or facedown.
- To throw oneself down in submission (also figuratively).
- To cause to lie down, to flatten; (figuratively) to overcome or overpower.
- 1835, William Gilmore Simms, The Partisan, Harper, Chapter XIV, page 175:
- 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.
Translations
to lie flat or facedown
to throw oneself down in submission
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to cause to lie down