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Prosaic Has Literary Origins
In the past, any text that was not poetic was prosaic. Back then, prosaic carried no negative connotations; it simply indicated that a written work was made up of prose. That sense clearly owes much to the meaning of the word's Latin source prosa, meaning "prose." Poetry is viewed, however, as the more beautiful, imaginative, and emotional type of writing, and prose was relegated to the status of mundane and plain-Jane. As a result, English speakers started using prosaic to refer to anything considered matter-of-fact or ordinary, and they gradually transformed it into a synonym for "colorless," "drab," "lifeless," and "lackluster."
Examples of prosaic in a Sentence
Mordecai Richler, New York Times Book Review, 8 Oct. 1989
In addition to the prosaic essentials of life—wheat, rice, and salt—the Portuguese found exotic stores of pepper, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and other spices.
—Daniel J. Boorstin, The Discoverers, 1983
There is, of course, an ordinary medicine, an everyday medicine, humdrum, prosaic, a medicine for stubbed toes, quinsies, bunions, and boils …
—Oliver Sacks, Awakenings, 1973
… where did he get his money? He had to eat and drink, buy apparatus and chemicals, even pay the poor rate. Where did he get the common coin to meet such unavoidable if prosaic obligations?
—Flann O'Brien, The Dalkey Archive, 1964
He has a prosaic writing style.
the prosaic life of a hardworking farmer
She believes the noises are made by ghosts, but I think there's a more prosaic explanation.
Alexander C. Kaufman, The Atlantic, 16 June 2025
These prosaic details, coming three pages from the end, are shockingly poignant in their invocation of a familiar accouterment of upper-middle-class adolescence.
—Daphne Merkin, New York Times, 18 May 2025
Despite the fact that the company's revenues are overwhelmingly derived from selling new electric vehicles, such prosaic activities hold no luster for the boss.
—ArsTechnica, 8 May 2025
The 1980s-era California setting and the heartbreaking performances by Mackenzie Davis and Gugu Mbatha-Raw combine to make what should be a rather prosaic love story.
—Steve Greene, IndieWire, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prosaic
Cite this Entry
“Prosaic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prosaic. Accessed 28 Jun. 2025.
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