supine
1 of 2adjective
supine
2 of 2noun
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The Difference Between Prone, Supine, and Prostrate
In literal use, prone and supine indicate contrasting positions of the body: a person lying prone is facing downward while a person lying supine is face up.
Both prone and supine also have meanings that have nothing to do with physical position. Supine, in keeping with the image of one lying comfortably idle, can be applied to those who are willing to be controlled by others, or who show mental or moral slackness, as in "supine obedience" or "supine inaction."
Prone is used in the sense of "having a tendency or inclination," as in "prone to worry" or "accident-prone." This usage is similar to such words as apt, liable, or likely (as in "apt to be late"), but in many instances prone implies a vulnerability to attack or damaging influence, in keeping with the image of one lying face down and unable to see what is approaching.
The word prostrate too has meanings to do with body position. It is used with the very specific meaning of "stretched out with face on the ground in adoration or submission," but is also used simply to mean "lying flat." In figurative use, prostrate means "completely overcome and lacking vitality, will, or power to rise," as in "prostrate in fear."
So while prone, supine, and prostrate have specific meanings with regard to body position, they also come with situational connotations in many cases: prone suggests exposure or vulnerability; supine connotes a position of weakness or passivity; and prostrate implies submission in the face of being overcome.
Example Sentences
Ashley Strickland, CNN, 9 Dec. 2021 The bill would bar school personnel and police stationed on campus from physically restraining students in potentially life-threatening ways, like restricting their breathing or using a prone or supine restraint. NBC News, 5 Oct. 2021 France is worn out, she is made to be supine not made to fight. Mark Mazower, The New York Review of Books, 16 Jan. 2020 Safe Act would bar school personnel and police stationed on campus from physically restraining students in potentially life-threatening ways, like restricting their breathing or using a prone or supine restraint. NBC News, 26 May 2021 It is performed for supine audiences who are encouraged to doze off during the proceedings. BostonGlobe.com, 24 Mar. 2021 The most bizarre attraction was a merry-go-round, where the ladies, in all their finery, sat on supine Chinese mannequins and the gents rode serpent-like creatures. Washington Post, 9 Dec. 2020 Antitrust regulators have been supine for two decades, a key reason—along with winner-takes-all technology—for the decline in competition in the U.S. James Mackintosh, WSJ, 19 Jan. 2020 Perhaps the most depressing reflection sparked by both books is on the supine nature of otherwise intelligent observers in the face of the coarse brutalities of dictatorships. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2019 See More Word History
Adjective
Middle English suppyne, from Latin supinus; akin to Latin sub under, up to — more at up
Noun
Middle English supyn, from Late Latin supinum, from Latin, neuter of supinus, adjective
Adjective
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Medical Definition
supine
adjective
ˈsü-ˌpīn supine
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- passive
- feeble
- incompetent
- acquiescent
- spineless
- submissive
- resigned
- tolerating
- pliant
- docile
- subordinate
- subservient
- obedient
- obeisant
- unaggressive
- tolerant
- nonresistant
- yielding
- compliant
- surrendering
- slavish
- weak
- conformist
- conformable
- unresistant
- unresponsive
- pliable
- amiable
- apathetic
- obliging
- uncaring
- helpless
- tractable
- ineffectual
- complying
- willing
- incapable
- powerless
- amenable
- impotent
- paralyzed
- handcuffed
- ineffective
- law-abiding
- unfit
- useless
- agreeable
- guidable
- inept
- hog-tied
- hamstrung
- impuissant
- high and dry
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- recalcitrant
- defiant
- authoritarian
- refractory
- competent
- autocratic
- restive
- intractable
- despotic
- uncontrollable
- indomitable
- insurgent
- mutinous
- dominant
- effective
- insubordinate
- capable
- vigorous
- contumacious
- disobedient
- tyrannical
- dictatorial
- efficient
- rebellious
- contrary
- able
- dynamic
- magisterial
- unruly
- ungovernable
- tyrannic
- untoward
- forceful
- froward
- wilful
- energetic
- perverse
- robust
- sturdy
- willful
- wayward
- wrongheaded
- incompliant
- tough
- balky
- undisciplined
- headstrong
- senior
- autocratical
- unmanageable
- top
- major
- important
- dissident
- mighty
- significant
- powerful
- nonconformist
- strong
- potent
- puissant
- high-level
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of supine are idle, inactive, inert, and passive. While all these words mean "not engaged in work or activity," supine applies only to persons and commonly implies abjectness or indolence.
The words idle and supine are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, idle applies to persons that are not busy or occupied or to their powers or their implements.
The meanings of inactive and supine largely overlap; however, inactive applies to anyone or anything not in action or in operation or at work.
The words inert and supine can be used in similar contexts, but inert as applied to things implies powerlessness to move or to affect other things; as applied to persons it suggests an inherent or habitual indisposition to activity.
While the synonyms passive and supine are close in meaning, passive implies immobility or lack of normally expected response to an external force or influence and often suggests deliberate submissiveness or self-control.