prorogue

verb

pro·​rogue prə-ˈrōg 

prorogued; proroguing

transitive verb

1

: defer, postpone

2

: to terminate a session of (something, such as a British parliament) by royal prerogative

intransitive verb

: to suspend or end a legislative session

Synonyms

• adjourn
• prorogate
• recess
• suspend

Examples of prorogue in a Sentence

the legislative session was prorogued for the summer

Recent Examples on the Web

But creating one requires some parliamentary machination: The speaker of the House must first engineer a disagreement with McConnell over adjourning, at which time the president can intervene, under the Presidential Adjournment Clause in the Constitution, to prorogue Congress and force a recess. —Sam Adler-Bell, The New Republic, 15 Nov. 2020

Decency would have driven a leader to bow out after the very first COVID fine, so would lying to the Queen to prorogue parliament, or accepting Tory donor cash to refurbish his No.10 apartment. —Marina Purkiss, Fortune, 27 May 2022

In a separate legal challenge brought by lawyers of 75 anti-Brexit lawmakers, a judge temporarily rejected calls to to block Johnson’s decision of proroguing parliament on Friday. —Julia Webster, Time, 30 Aug. 2019

What was unprecedented about this case was that the courts had never before been called upon to review the Crown’s power to prorogue parliament. —James Grant, Time, 25 Sep. 2019

On Tuesday, Britain’s Supreme Court will consider whether Johnson’s decision to prorogue — or suspend — the British Parliament for five weeks was lawful, after conflicting judgments in lower courts. —Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2019

Bercow who has openly criticized the prime minister’s decision to prorogue Parliament, approved their request, which led to a vote Tuesday night. —Megan Specia, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Sep. 2019

In August, the Queen prorogued Parliament on the advice of the Prime Minister, which she is historically bound to take. —Katherine Dunn, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2019

When a monarch prorogues Parliament, the current parliamentary session ends, meaning that all motions that have yet to be addressed, voted on, or passed are also suspended. —Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 29 Aug. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Middle English prorogen, from Anglo-French proroger, from Latin prorogare, from pro- before + rogare to ask — more at pro-, right

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1