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prostrate

pros·trate/ˈpɹɑstɹeɪt/adjective, verb

prostrate is spelled P-R-O-S-T-R-A-T-E: 9 letters and 2 syllables (pros·trate). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, prostrate means “Lying flat, face-down” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in prostrate?

Letters9: P-R-O-S-T-R-A-T-E
Syllables2: pros·trate
In writingabout once in every 2 million words; the 42,680th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is prostrate?

Prostrate appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce prostrate?

  • UK /ˈpɹɒstɹeɪt/
  • US /ˈpɹɑstɹeɪt/

Prostrate has 2 syllables, split pros·trate in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-prostrate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of prostrate

  • prostrates present, singular, he/she/it
  • prostrating participle, present
  • prostrated participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does prostrate mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Lying flat, face-down.

    Finally almost the whole world was combined against the evil-doers, who are now prostrate before us.

  2. 2

    Emotionally devastated.

  3. 3

    Physically incapacitated from environmental exposure or debilitating disease.

    He was prostrate from the extreme heat.

  4. 4

    Trailing on the ground; procumbent.

  5. 5

    obsoleteProstrated.

verb

  1. 1

    To lie flat or face-down.

  2. 2

    To throw oneself down in submission.

  3. 3

    To cause to lie down, to flatten.

  4. 4

    To overcome or overpower.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Prostrate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Germanniedergestreckt (lying flat, facedown), niederwerfen, erniedrigen (to throw oneself down in submission)
Spanishpostrado, acostado boca abajo, prostrado (disused) (lying flat, facedown), prostrarse (disused), postrarse (to lie flat or face-down), prostrar (disused) (to cause to lie down)
Frenchprosterner (to lie flat or face-down)
Portugueseprostrar-se (to throw oneself down in submission), prostrar (to lie flat or face-down)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does prostrate come from?

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.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after prostrate