as in exhaustion
a complete depletion of energy or strength
an outpatient suffering from fever, prostration, and nausea was rushed to the hospital by ambulance
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Recent Examples of prostration
The feats, the ecstasies, the prostrations and abnegations.
—
James Parker, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
Travelers can also stay overnight to meditate, share meals, learn more about the temple’s Seon sect, and participate in the 108 prostrations.
—Peggy Orenstein, AFAR Media, 6 Jan. 2025
Indeed, the Sabbath was usually one of Hatzolah’s busiest times, possibly due to the overeating that was among the highlights of the day—heart attacks, strokes, ulcer flare-ups, complete prostration due to the cholent and the kugel.
—Tova Reich, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2024
The attendees offered heartfelt reverence to the Buddhas, engaged in prostrations, and prayed to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for blessings upon all sentient beings.
—Jon Stojan, USA TODAY, 25 July 2023
One death and two cases of heat prostration were called possibly due to the temperature, which was said then to be the highest in the country.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 3 June 2023
This is akin to members of Congress sporting fake kente-cloth shawls and taking a knee in a foul moment of fake reverence for ex-con George Floyd, in an act of politically correct prostration.
—Armond White, National Review, 19 Aug. 2022
By that time, the Russian public had come to regard the 1990s—with its experiment in democracy, the advent of the free market, and its unprecedented openness—as a period of national humiliation that produced undeserved wealth for a few, misery for many, and prostration before foreigners.
—Dmitri Trenin, Foreign Affairs, 25 Dec. 2016
James Parker, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
Travelers can also stay overnight to meditate, share meals, learn more about the temple’s Seon sect, and participate in the 108 prostrations.
—Peggy Orenstein, AFAR Media, 6 Jan. 2025
Indeed, the Sabbath was usually one of Hatzolah’s busiest times, possibly due to the overeating that was among the highlights of the day—heart attacks, strokes, ulcer flare-ups, complete prostration due to the cholent and the kugel.
—Tova Reich, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2024
The attendees offered heartfelt reverence to the Buddhas, engaged in prostrations, and prayed to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for blessings upon all sentient beings.
—Jon Stojan, USA TODAY, 25 July 2023
One death and two cases of heat prostration were called possibly due to the temperature, which was said then to be the highest in the country.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 3 June 2023
This is akin to members of Congress sporting fake kente-cloth shawls and taking a knee in a foul moment of fake reverence for ex-con George Floyd, in an act of politically correct prostration.
—Armond White, National Review, 19 Aug. 2022
By that time, the Russian public had come to regard the 1990s—with its experiment in democracy, the advent of the free market, and its unprecedented openness—as a period of national humiliation that produced undeserved wealth for a few, misery for many, and prostration before foreigners.
—Dmitri Trenin, Foreign Affairs, 25 Dec. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prostration
Noun
-
As my exhaustion broke the spell of curiosity, the narrative appealed to me.—
Jim Beaugez,
CNN Money,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Is that your way of expressing the anger and exhaustion that so many people feel in the country right now?—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Sometimes AbdulKareem would vomit from hunger and fatigue.—
Clayton Dalton,
New Yorker,
18 Oct. 2025
-
Others point to emotional maturity or social fatigue.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prostration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prostration. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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