Synonyms of prostrating

prostrating

verb

present participle of prostrate

1

as in weakening

to diminish the physical strength of

an athlete prostrated for weeks by a bout of pneumonia

Synonyms & Similar Words

• weakening
• softening
• wasting
• injuring
• exhausting
• tiring
• hurting
• debilitating
• sapping
• enervating
• paralyzing
• damaging
• enfeebling
• crippling
• devitalizing
• impairing
• disabling
• incapacitating
• depleting
• etiolating
• impoverishing
• harming
• depressing
• hamstringing
• grinding (down)
• unmanning
• wearing out
• laying up
• wearing down
• washing out
• invaliding
• breaking down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• strengthening
• fortifying
• recruiting
• energizing
• invigorating
• beefing (up)
• hardening
• rejuvenating
• vitalizing
• seasoning
• toughening

2

as in paralyzing

to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move

the huge increase in gas prices really prostrated the nation's economic engine

Synonyms & Similar Words

• paralyzing
• undermining
• crippling
• incapacitating
• weakening
• disabling
• immobilizing
• hamstringing
• attenuating
• undercutting
• debilitating
• sapping
• mutilating
• enervating
• maiming
• hobbling
• enfeebling
• laming
• tiring
• knocking out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• energizing
• galvanizing
• strengthening
• invigorating
• vitalizing
• fortifying
• empowering
• restoring
• reviving
• regenerating
• revitalizing
• rejuvenating
• freshening
• refreshing
• refreshening

3

as in overcoming

to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress

a widow prostrated by crushing grief

Synonyms & Similar Words

• overcoming
• overwhelming
• devastating
• crushing
• oppressing
• swamping
• grinding (down)
• rocking
• overpowering
• flooring
• drowning
• overmastering
• disturbing
• defeating
• whelming
• snowing under
• sinking
• throwing
• shattering
• deluging
• refuting
• distressing
• upsetting
• demoralizing
• staggering
• confuting
• unmanning
• breaking
• unnerving

4

as in downing

to strike (someone) so forcefully as to cause a fall

the boxer bragged that he could prostrate any opponent with a single blow

Synonyms & Similar Words

• downing
• dropping
• toppling
• hitting
• slapping
• slamming
• pounding
• smacking
• punching
• leveling
• flooring
• felling
• banging
• bowling (down or over)
• mowing (down)
• knocking over
• overthrowing
• knocking down
• poking
• thumping
• jabbing
• pasting
• whacking
• smiting
• knocking out
• bashing
• swatting
• hammering
• swiping
• socking
• throwing down
• slugging
• kayoing
• belting
• slogging
• clobbering
• KO'ing
• bludgeoning
• walloping
• thwacking
• whaling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of prostrating

The intensity of their yearning has only increased on their second album, Nature’s Pill—and that’s no easy feat, considering this is a band whose breakout track opens with the narrator prostrating himself before the object of his affection. — Colin Joyce, Pitchfork, 14 Oct. 2026

During Glick’s tour, NBC News witnessed a Jewish group openly defying the rules by praying and prostrating on the edge of the compound under the protection of police. — Gabe Joselow, NBC news, 26 June 2026

Adults eagerly prostrating themselves – emotionally, literally – to worship at the altar of an organization bound by little more than laundry and shared legends. — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 9 June 2026

His prostrating himself in front of Vladimir Putin is now oily and explainable. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 11 Jan. 2026

Typically, penitents would remain outside church gatherings, demonstrating their repentance by prostrating themselves, and then publicly confess. — Timothy Gabrielli, The Conversation, 25 Aug. 2025