v. 1 Usually, prostrate oneself. lie down, kowtow, bow (down), bow and scrape, grovel, kneel, fall to or on one's knees, truckle, crawl, cringe, submit, abase oneself The captives were forced to prostrate themselves before the emperor 2 overwhelm, overcome, overpower, crush, lay or bring low, paralyse, fell, bowl over, floor, bring down, humble, make helpless, ruin; exhaust, fatigue, weary, wear down or out, tire (out) They were prostrated by grief at the loss of their son Having been prostrated for months by glandular fever, she finally recovered and returned to work.
adj. 3 prone, horizontal, lying down, laid low, stretched out, procumbent, recumbent, Formal or technical accumbent, decumbent The prostrate bodies of the worshippers in their multicoloured garb resembled a huge patchwork quilt 4 overwhelmed, overcome, overpowered, crushed, brought or laid low, paralysed, felled, bowled over, brought down, humbled, helpless, ruined, brought to one's knees, powerless, impotent, defenceless, disarmed, Colloq floored She was prostrate at the news of the car crash After the long war, the countries were struggling to revitalize their prostrate economies. 5 exhausted, drained, fatigued, spent, worn out, wearied, weary, tired (out), dead tired, dog-tired, played out, Colloq fagged out, knocked out, all in, beat, bushed, US wiped out, Slang shagged out, US and Canadian pooped (out) We were prostrate after the long climb