- of or like prose rather than poetry; often, specif., heavy, flat, unimaginative, etc.
- commonplace, dull and ordinary: prosaic details of everyday life
Origin of prosaic
Late Latin prosaicus from Classical Latin prosa, prose
The prosaic chore of folding laundry can often be relaxing.
The definition of prosaic is something boring, ordinary or common.
An example of prosaic is shopping for groceries or running errands.
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prosaic
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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prosaic
adjective
- a. Consisting or characteristic of prose.b. Matter-of-fact; straightforward.
- Lacking in imagination and spirit; dull.
Origin of prosaic
Late Latin prōsaicus from Latin prōsa prose ; see prose .Related Forms:
- pro·sa′i·cal·ly
adverb
- pro·sa′ic·ness
noun
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Adjective
(comparative more prosaic, superlative most prosaic)
- Pertaining to or having the characteristics of prose.
- The tenor of Eliot's prosaic work differs greatly from that of his poetry.
- (of writing or speaking) Straightforward; matter-of-fact; lacking the feeling or elegance of poetry.
- I was simply making the prosaic point that we are running late.
- (usually of writing or speaking but also figurative) Overly plain or simple, to the point of being boring; humdrum.
- His account of the incident was so prosaic that I nodded off while reading it.
- She lived a prosaic life.
Origin
From French prosaïque, from Medieval Latin prosaicus (“in prose"), from Latin prosa (“prose"), from prorsus (“straightforward, in prose"), from Old Latin provorsus (“straight ahead"), from pro- (“forward") + vorsus (“turned"), from vertÅ (“to turn"), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to turn, to bend").
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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MLA Style
"Prosaic." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Prosaic.
APA Style
Prosaic. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Prosaic
Sentence Examples
- There is some poetry in this composition, but it alternates with very prosaic details.
- On his return to France, a sadder and practically a wiser man, he settled down to very prosaic work.
- A very prosaic explanation of this nocturnal noise is given by Judson.
- The greater part of the Koran is decidedly prosaic; much of it indeed is stiff in style.
- For instance, he employs rhyme in dealing with the most prosaic subjects, and thus produces the disagreeable effect of incongruity between style and matter.
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WORDS NEAR prosaic IN THE DICTIONARY
- prosaic
- pros
- pros-
- pros-and-cons