English Explanatory Dictionary

prosaic

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Pertaining to or having the characteristics of prose.
  2. Straightforward; matter-of-fact; lacking the feeling or elegance of poetry.
  3. Overly plain, simple or commonplace, to the point of being boring.

Pronunciation

/pɹəʊˈzeɪ.ɪk/ /pɹoʊˈzeɪ.ɪk/ en-us-prosaic.ogg

Word forms

prosaic more prosaic most prosaic

Etymology

From Middle 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 vertō (“to turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to turn, to bend”).

Synonyms

humdrum dull unimaginative banal basic beat blah bland boring cold colourless corny drab stuffy dreich drowsy dull as dishwater flat heavy going ho-hum insipid lackluster lame languid lifeless longsome monotonous mundane no fun at parties plain plodding prosaic prosy pedantic pedestrian static straightforward snoozeworthy soporific tedious uncool wan weaksauce wooden uninteresting stodgy vapid vanilla

Antonyms

poetic

Related words

prosaically prosaicness prose

Derived words

prosaicism unprosaic
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