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prostrate

Syllabification: (pros·trate)
Pronunciation: /ˈpräsˌtrāt/

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Definition of prostrate

adjective

  • lying stretched out on the ground with one’s face downward.
  • [predic.] completely overcome or helpless, especially with illness, distress, or exhaustion:his wife was prostrate with shock
  • Botany growing along the ground.

verb

[with object]
  • 1 (prostrate oneself) lay oneself flat on the ground face downward, especially in reverence or submission:she prostrated herself on the bare floor of the church
  • 2(of distress, exhaustion, or illness) reduce (someone) to extreme physical weakness:she was prostrated by a migraine that she could scarcely get up the stairs

Origin:

Middle English: from Latin prostratus 'thrown down', past participle of prosternere, from pro- 'before' + sternere 'lay flat'

prostrate in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of prostrate in the British & World English dictionary