Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Lying with the front or face downward.
- adj. Having a tendency; inclined: paper that is prone to yellowing; children who are prone to mischief.
- adv. In a prone manner: The patient was lying prone on the bed.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Bending forward with the face downward; inclined; lying flat; not erect.
- Lying with the face or front downward.
- Specifically, in anatomy: Lying face downward; stretched at full length on the belly.
- Lying with the palm downward; pronated, as the hand. In both senses, the opposite of supine.
- Moving or sloping downward; descending; inclined.
- Inclined by disposition or natural tendency; propense; disposed: usually in an ill sense.
Wiktionary
- adj. Lying face downward; prostrate (Wikipedia).
- adj. Having a downward inclination or slope.
- adj. Shooting from a lying down position.
- adj. Predisposed, liable, inclined.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Bending forward; inclined; not erect.
- adj. Prostrate; flat; esp., lying with the face down; -- opposed to
supine . - adj. Headlong; running downward or headlong.
- adj. Sloping, with reference to a line or surface; declivous; inclined; not level.
- adj. Inclined; propense; disposed; -- applied to the mind or affections, usually in an ill sense. Followed by
to .
WordNet 3.0
- adj. lying face downward
- adj. having a tendency (to); often used in combination
Etymologies
- From Latin prōnus ("turned forward, bent or inclined"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, inclined, disposed, from Latin prōnus, leaning forward; see per1 in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“I. ii.188 (19,2) [There is a prone and speechless dialect] I can scarcely tell what signification to give to the word _prone_.”
“The term prone to in [e] mean s having a tendency to, so it is correct.”
“At the very least, shouldn't a writer try to shield the kettle of language from further cracks by knowing the meanings of the words he uses?" he asks, querying Cunningham's choice of the word "prone".”
The Guardian: Review of The Hours author's latest book wins inaugural hatchet job award
“It doesn't act like being drama prone is all a "girl thing.”
mrissa: "Rissy, 90% of the things you worry about never come to pass."--Grandpa
“I saw a report on CNN where a woman was rescued from being trapped in collapsed roof and wall debris for two days and what struck me was her odd calm as she was carried prone from a certain, crushing death — as well as her matter-of-fact confidence in a God that Robertson says her people forsook ...”
“I would recommend them to anyone with oily or partially oily skin prone to breakouts or to anyone seeking camouflage for minor imperfections, scarring, or discoloration.”
“As a shooter shoots in prone position you can actually see a shockwave travel down there body to their feet and back up.”
“I remember I was in prone position pounding the 8, 9 and 10 ring when one of the Coaches leaned down repositioned my body and gave me some tips along with a dry fire lesson.”
“He remain prone on the field for several minutes, but could be seen moving his feet, before he was placed on a stretcher and taken from the field on a cart.”
“Saturday night I watched a Gentleman who used a Military 1 ¼ perfectly in prone position to take a Cow Elk at 300 yards.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘prone’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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2nd part
prelude, ample, escalate, prototype, accession, acquisition, archives, zealot, indict, verdict, intimidating, timid and 454 more...
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Words starting with PRO
I've noticed many, many words start with PRO and this is just a collection of them.
professional, pronunciation, Prolagus, probable, prog, proximity, profit, procrastincate, prom, pronoun, promise, proactive and 206 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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jaydrox's list
Mah list!
mediocracy, captivatingly, devastatingly, dazedly, heavenly, flawless, copious, conviction, synoptic, amalgamation, prefatory, precursory and 150 more...
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Learning
For me to learn new words.
Bahamian, gamble, democratic, subsequent, horror, inherited, individuate, replete, prone, tiny, choreographer, magnetic and 7 more...
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Your Mother
Joyess
cramp, crumble, cringe, slope, fling, prone, freckle, plank, frock, tramp, slump, crotch rot and 36 more...
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Take it lying down
And get up with fleas.
recumbent, accumbent, procumbent, cumbent, recline, prone, decumbent, couchant, recouchant, supine, prostrate, laid out and 2 more...
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GCI
spinster, maiden, happy-go-lucky, homonym, ill-at-ease, saw red, out of sorts, hot under the collar, taken aback, pen-names, alias, shoelaces and 378 more...
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eggplantia5's Words
scintillate, marvel, cranberry, oscillate, triumph, bamboozle, grimace, magical, book, hexagon, cipher, compendium and 2727 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
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fifi
verbs Adj Adv noun
indulge, convene, solve, dissolve, prospect, prospective, allege, resolve, accountable, administration, amid, agenda and 407 more...
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What Do You Mean $
ahh these hurt.....
hermit, prone, maxim, guise, solvenly, lurid, lax, amiable, irate, cloister, mediate, nettle and 100 more...
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And another
retrocausality, brusque, gainsay, cheerio, jaundiced, chamois, caw, craw, fudge, bubbler, shebang, bolo and 244 more...
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vocabulary
verisimilitude, pendulate, moxie, whimper, nary, stevedore, hubris, prodigious, super-injunction, injunction, lashings, fennel and 202 more...
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madmelanie's Words
monkey, folderol, snark, snarky, flibbertigibbet, faith, asshat, pirouette, avuncular, exegesis, memento mori, verisimilitude and 379 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for prone.

reesetee I've not had that problem, no. Jan 28, 2011
yarb Are you particularly prune-prone? Jan 28, 2011
reesetee I wonder whether prunes lie prone? Jan 27, 2011
yarb I never realised this meant lying face-down; I thought it was just "lying flat" (face up or down). Jan 25, 2011