Adjacent Words

Prone definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PRONE, a. [L. pronus.] Bending forward; inclined; not erect.
1. Lying with the face downward; contrary to supine.
2. Headlong; precipitous; inclining in descent.
Down thither prone in flight.
3. Sloping; declivous; inclined.
Since the floods demand
For their descent, a prone and sinking land.
4. Inclined; propense; disposed; applied to the mind or affections, usually in an ill sense; as men prone to evil, prone to strife, prone to intemperance, prone to deny the truth,prone to change.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: having a tendency (to); often used in combination; "a child prone to mischief"; "failure-prone"
2: lying face downward [syn: prone, prostrate]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Latin pronus bent forward, tending; akin to Latin pro forward — more at for Date: 14th century 1. having a tendency or inclination ; being likely <prone to forget names> <accident-prone> 2. a. having the front or ventral surface downward b. lying flat or prostrate • prone adverb • pronely adverb • proneness noun Synonyms: prone, supine, prostrate, recumbent mean lying down. prone implies a position with the front of the body turned toward the supporting surface <push-ups require a prone position>. supine implies lying on one's back and suggests inertness or abjectness <lying supine on the couch>. prostrate implies lying full-length as in submission, defeat, or physical collapse <a runner fell prostrate at the finish line>. recumbent implies the posture of one sleeping or resting <a patient comfortably recumbent in a hospital bed>. Synonym: see in addition liable.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 a lying face downwards (cf. SUPINE). b lying flat; prostrate. c having the front part downwards, esp. the palm of the hand. 2 (usu. foll. by to, or to + infin.) disposed or liable, esp. to a bad action, condition, etc. (is prone to bite his nails). 3 (usu. in comb.) more than usually likely to suffer (accident-prone). 4 archaic with a downward slope or direction. Derivatives: pronely adv. proneness n. Etymology: ME f. L pronus f. pro forwards

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prone Prone, a. [L. pronus, akin to Gr. ?, ?, Skr. pravana sloping, inclined, and also to L. pro forward, for. See Pro-.] 1. Bending forward; inclined; not erect. Towards him they bend With awful reverence prone. --Milton. 2. Prostrate; flat; esp., lying with the face down; -- opposed to supine. Which, as the wind, Blew where it listed, laying all things prone. --Byron. 3. Headlong; running downward or headlong. ``Down thither prone in flight.'' --Milton. 4. Sloping, with reference to a line or surface; declivous; inclined; not level. Since the floods demand, For their descent, a prone and sinking land. --Blackmore. 5. Inclined; propense; disposed; -- applied to the mind or affections, usually in an ill sense. Followed by to. ``Prone to mischief.'' --Shak. Poets are nearly all prone to melancholy. --Landor.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. To be prone to something, usually something bad, means to have a tendency to be affected by it or to do it. For all her experience, she was still prone to nerves... People with fair skin who sunburn easily are very prone to develop skin cancer. ADJ: v-link ADJ, ADJ to n, ADJ to-inf • -prone combines with nouns to make adjectives that describe people who are frequently affected by something bad. ...the most injury-prone rider on the circuit. COMB in ADJ see also accident prone 2. If you are lying prone, you are lying on your front. (FORMAL) Bob slid from his chair and lay prone on the floor... ? supine ADJ: ADJ after v, ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Prostrate (with the face downward), recumbent, lying flat. 2. Sloping, inclining, inclined, declivous. 3. Disposed, inclined, tending, bent, apt, propense. 4. Bending forward, inclined, bowed. 5. Ready, eager. 6. Headlong, running downward or headlong.

Moby Thesaurus

accumbent, acquiescent, agreeable, alacritous, amenable, answerable for, apt, apt to, ardent, bent, calculated to, capable of, compliant, consenting, content, cooperative, couchant, couche, crawling, crouched, crouching, debased, decumbent, deferential, dependent on, depressed, disposed, disposed to, dispositioned, docile, draped, eager, enthusiastic, exposed, exposed to, fain, favorable, favorably disposed, favorably inclined, flat, forward, game, given, given to, groveling, horizontal, in danger of, in the mind, in the mood, incident to, inclined, inclined to, knee-high, knocked flat, laid low, leaning, level, liable, liable to, likely, likely to, lolling, lounging, low, low-built, low-hung, low-level, low-leveled, low-lying, low-set, low-statured, lying, lying down, minded, minded to, naked to, neap, obeisant, obliged to, obnoxious, obsequious, on bended knee, open, open to, pliant, predisposed, predisposed to, procumbent, prompt, prone to, prostrate, quick, ready, ready and willing, ready for, ready to, receptive, reclining, recumbent, reposing, responsible for, responsive, resupine, runty, sensitive, servile, short, sprawled, sprawling, spread, squat, squatty, standing to, stooped, stumpy, subject, subject to, subservient, supine, susceptible, susceptive to, tending, tractable, unelevated, well-disposed, well-inclined, willed, willing, willinghearted, within range of, zealous