as in passive
lacking the ability or will to act on one's own
They blamed the disaster on supine politicians who allowed large corporations to flout regulations.
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Recent Examples of supine
His liver will keep him supine, doused until it’s done with its daunting task of detoxification.
—
Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
But the older woman, once supine, now sits up.
—Weike Wang, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
After a decade of seemingly supine obeisance, there is no obvious reason why the military leadership would suddenly rouse itself to oppose Xi.
—Jonathan A. Czin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2025
That brings us to the supine response of Congress to Kennedy’s actions.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for supine
Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
But the older woman, once supine, now sits up.
—Weike Wang, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
After a decade of seemingly supine obeisance, there is no obvious reason why the military leadership would suddenly rouse itself to oppose Xi.
—Jonathan A. Czin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2025
That brings us to the supine response of Congress to Kennedy’s actions.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for supine
Recent Examples of Synonyms for supine
Adjective
-
Earlier phases examined high-level safety objectives, passive safety features, cooling systems, containment strategies, and the management of severe accident conditions, with reports from these phases already published.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Jan. 2026
-
In essence, live programming transforms Netflix from a passive viewing application into an actively engaging advertising environment.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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That said, international filmmaking is in feeble shape, partly because of the jambalaya of international co-productions, partly because of the inroads of television aesthetics, and partly because of the cloistered aestheticism of self-conscious art-house cinema.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
22 Jan. 2026
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The feeble job market may be keeping wage growth subdued, some economists point out.—
George Avalos,
Mercury News,
14 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
In that case, he was found incompetent to stand trial and the case was referred to Hamilton County Probate Court.—
Quinlan Bentley,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
6 Jan. 2026
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In Indiana, there are five death row inmates, with one of the inmates being deemed incompetent to stand trial.—
Alexandra Kukulka,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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As the right rises, Trump puts enemies on notice The Trump administration’s attack on Venezuela extends its broader crusade to assemble a column of allied — or at least acquiescent — governments in Latin America, sailing with the political winds blowing in much of the region.—
Megan Janetsky,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Jan. 2026
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With This is Gavin Newsom, the California governor is obviously working to position himself as some sort of aisle-bridging but Trump-antagonizing candidate, an acquiescent project that involves booking Steve Bannon one week and Ezra Klein the next.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
My candidacy is a symbol of the end of the weak-kneed, feckless Republican leadership of Mitch McConnell, and the spineless swamp jellyfish that are in the United States Senate representing the Republicans.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
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Because Republicans in Congress are spineless.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Supine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/supine. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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