prosaic

English

WOTD – 16 April 2009

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle French prosaïque, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Lua error in Module:parameters at line 95: Parameter 1 should be a valid language code; the value "ML." is not valid. See WT:LOL. prosaicus (“in prose”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin prosa (“prose”), from prorsus (“straightforward, in prose”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Lua error in Module:parameters at line 95: Parameter 1 should be a valid language code; the value "itc-ola" is not valid. See WT:LOL. provorsus (“straight ahead”), from pro- (“forward”) + vorsus (“turned”), from vertō (“to turn”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to turn, to bend”).

prosaic (comparative more prosaic, superlative most prosaic)

Pertaining to or having the characteristics of prose.
Antonym: poetic

The tenor of Eliot's prosaic work differs greatly from that of his poetry.
(of writing or speaking) Straightforward; matter-of-fact; lacking the feeling or elegance of poetry.
I was simply making the prosaic point that we are running late.
(main usage, usually of writing or speaking but also figurative) Overly plain, simple or commonplace, to the point of being boring.
Synonyms: humdrum, dull, unimaginative; see also Thesaurus:boring

His account of the incident was so prosaic that I nodded off while reading it.

She lived a prosaic life.
- 1931, H. P. Lovecraft, The Whisperer in Darkness, chapter 6:
  Their steepness and abruptness were even greater than I had imagined from hearsay, and suggested nothing in common with the prosaic objective world we know.
- 2017 June 3, Daniel Taylor, “Real Madrid win Champions League as Cristiano Ronaldo double defeats Juv”, in The Guardian (London)‎^[1]:
  Ultimately, though, the more prosaic goals carried the greater significance in this contest. Madrid have managed only one clean sheet on their way to winning this competition.

pertaining to or having the characteristics of prose

straightforward; matter-of-fact; lacking the feeling or elegance of poetry

overly plain or simple, to the point of being boring; humdrum