Meanings
prostrate1
- not comparableLying flat, face-down.
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, →OCLC1 more example
Finally almost the whole world was combined against the evil-doers, who are now prostrate before us.
1945, Sir Winston Churchill, VE Day speech from House of Commons - figurativelynot comparableEmotionally devastated.
- not comparablePhysically incapacitated from environmental exposure or debilitating disease.
He was prostrate from the extreme heat.
- not comparablebiologyTrailing on the ground; procumbent.
- not comparableobsoleteProstrated.
prostrate2
present singular third person prostrates · participle present prostrating · participle past prostrated · past prostrated
- oftenreflexiveTo lie flat or face-down.
- alsofigurativelyTo throw oneself down in submission.
Those who had the privilege of approaching him, had to prostrate themselves before him in profound humility[…]
1922, Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla, Zoroastrian Civilization, page 2281 more example
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 MailSynonyms: grovel
- To cause to lie down, to flatten.
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
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo throw oneself down in submission.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
prostrate · adjective
- Latinprōstrātus
- Middle Englishprostrat(e)“prostrate”
- Englishprostrate
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.
More words from Middle English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →prostrate · verb
- Latinprōstrātus
- Middle Englishprostraten“(reflexive) to prostrate; (with <i class="Latn mention" lang="enm">doun</i>) to fall down in a state of humility or submission”
- Englishprostrate
From Middle English prostraten (“(reflexive) to prostrate; (with doun) to fall down in a state of humility or submission”), from prostrat(e) (“prostrate, prostrated”, also used as the past participle of prostraten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), from Latin prōstrātus, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.
More words from Middle English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek προσκυνέω
- προσκυνέω (proskunéō)to throw oneself down in submission
Arabic سَجَدَ, سَجَدَ
- سَجَدَ (sajada)to lie flat or face-down
- سَجَدَ (sajada)to throw oneself down in submission
Bulgarian легнал, проснат
- легнал (legnal)lying flat, facedown
- проснат (prosnat)lying flat, facedown
- лежа по очи (leža po oči)to lie flat or face-down
- унижавам се (unižavam se)to throw oneself down in submission
- повалям (povaljam)to cause to lie down
- просвам (prosvam)to cause to lie down
Chinese Mandarin 趴, 平臥 /平卧
- 趴 (pā)to lie flat or face-down
- 平臥 /平卧 (píngwò)to lie flat or face-down
- 匍匐 (púfú)to throw oneself down in submission
- 伏地 (fúdì)to throw oneself down in submission
Czech ležící na břiše, ležet na břiše
- ležící na břišelying flat, facedown
- ležet na břišeto lie flat or face-down
Dutch zich prosterneren, ter aarde werpen
- zich prosternerento lie flat or face-down
- ter aarde werpento throw oneself down in submission
Esperanto terenkuŝiĝi, adorkliniĝi
- terenkuŝiĝito lie flat or face-down
- adorkliniĝito throw oneself down in submission
Finnish mahallaan, lyöty
- mahallaanlying flat, facedown
- lyötyemotionally devastated
- maassaemotionally devastated
- toimintakyvytönphysically incapacitated from environmental exposure or debilitating disease
- maata pitkälläänto lie flat or face-down
- maata kasvoillaan (facedown)to lie flat or face-down
- maata vatsallaanto lie flat or face-down
- heittäytyä maahanto throw oneself down in submission
- kaataato cause to lie down
- kumotato cause to lie down
French prosterner
- prosternerto lie flat or face-down
German niedergestreckt, niederwerfen
- niedergestrecktlying flat, facedown
- niederwerfento throw oneself down in submission
- erniedrigento throw oneself down in submission
Greek πρηνής, κείτομαι μπρούμυτα
- πρηνής (prinís)lying flat, facedown
- κείτομαι μπρούμυτα (keítomai broúmyta)to lie flat or face-down
- μπρουμυτίζω (broumytízo)to lie flat or face-down
- πέφτω μπρούμυτα (péfto broúmyta)to throw oneself down in submission
- μπρουμυτίζω (broumytízo)to throw oneself down in submission
- προσπέφτω (prospéfto)to throw oneself down in submission
- υποκλίνομαι (ypoklínomai)to cause to lie down
- προσκυνώ (proskynó)to cause to lie down
Hungarian hason fekvő
- hason fekvőlying flat, facedown
Indonesian bersujud
- bersujudto lie flat or face-down
Japanese 平伏す
- 平伏す (hirefusu)to lie flat or face-down
Latin prosternō
- prosternōto cause to lie down
Malay telangkup, bersujud
- telangkupto lie flat or face-down
- bersujudto throw oneself down in submission
Māori taitakoto, tāpapa
- taitakotolying flat, facedown
- tāpapalying flat, facedown
- taitakototo lie flat or face-down
- tukupapato lie flat or face-down
- tāpapato lie flat or face-down
Norwegian prostrert, prostrere
- prostrertlying flat, facedown
- prostrereto lie flat or face-down
Norwegian Bokmål legge seg flat
- legge seg flatto throw oneself down in submission
Polish bić pokłony
- bić pokłonyto lie flat or face-down
Portuguese prostrar, prostrar-se
- prostrarto lie flat or face-down
- prostrar-seto throw oneself down in submission
- prostrarto cause to lie down
Russian распростёртый, лежа́щий ничко́м
- распростёртый (rasprostjórtyj)lying flat, facedown
- лежа́щий ничко́м (ležáščij ničkóm)lying flat, facedown
- лежа́ть ничко́м (ležátʹ ničkóm)to lie flat or face-down
- па́дать ниц (pádatʹ nic)to throw oneself down in submission
- пасть ниц (pastʹ nic)to throw oneself down in submission
- поверга́ть ниц (povergátʹ nic)to cause to lie down
- пове́ргнуть ниц (povérgnutʹ nic)to cause to lie down
Slovak zvaliť sa, zvaliť
- zvaliť sato throw oneself down in submission
- zvaliťto cause to lie down
Spanish postrado, acostado boca abajo
- postradolying flat, facedown
- acostado boca abajolying flat, facedown
- prostrado (disused)lying flat, facedown
- prostrarse (disused)to lie flat or face-down
- postrarseto lie flat or face-down
- prostrarse (disused)to throw oneself down in submission
- postrarseto throw oneself down in submission
- prostrar (disused)to cause to lie down
- postrarto cause to lie down
Vietnamese nằm úp, nằm sấp
- nằm úpto lie flat or face-down
- nằm sấpto lie flat or face-down
Welsh ar ei hyd, ar ei orwedd
- ar ei hydlying flat, facedown
- ar ei orweddlying flat, facedown
Cite this entry
prostrate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prostrate
“prostrate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prostrate. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “prostrate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prostrate.
Source: prostrate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.