prostrate
Definitions
adjective
- lying with the face downwards, as in submission
- exhausted physically or emotionally
- helpless or defenceless
- (of a plant) growing closely along the ground
verb
(tr)- to bow or cast (oneself) down, as in submission
- to lay or throw down flat, as on the ground
- to make helpless or defenceless
- to make exhausted
Alternative Forms
prosˈtration nounWord Origin
C14: from Latin prōsternere to throw to the ground, from prō- before + sternere to lay lowSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
exhausted,
overcome,
depressed,
drained,
spent,
worn out,
desolate,
dejected,
inconsolable,
at a low ebb,
fagged out,
=
helpless,
overwhelmed,
disarmed,
paralysed,
powerless,
reduced,
impotent,
defenceless,
brought to your knees
Usage examples
The pain and alarm vanished at once, and the prostrate hobbits leaped to their feet.
, THE LORD OF THE RINGS (2004)Her rules are simple: "I won't prostrate myself in front of anyone, I won't work for free but I won't run after money either.
India Today (2000)Another showed her holding a leash attached to a naked, prostrate prisoner's neck.
New Zealand Herald (2004)As Eddie Wolstenholme, the referee, produced the red card, West Brom players had to restrain the prostrate Johnson from seeking retribution.
Times, Sunday Times (2002)She was prostrate with seasickness the whole voyage; more than once they feared for her life.
, Indian Balm - Travels in the Southern Subcontinent (1994)