prone
pronunciation
How to pronounce prone in British English:
UK [prəʊn]
How to pronounce prone in American English:
US [proʊn]
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- Adjective:
- lying face downward
- having a tendency (to); often used in combination
Word Origin
- prone (adj.)
- c. 1400, "naturally inclined to something, apt, liable," from Latin pronus "bent forward, leaning forward, bent over," figuratively "inclined to, disposed," perhaps from adverbial form of pro- "before, for, instead of" (see pro-) + ending as in infernus, externus. Meaning "lying face-down" is first recorded 1570s. Literal and figurative senses both were in Latin; figurative is older in English. Related: Proneness.
Example
- 1. The area is also prone to cyclones .
- 2. Being drunk might make you more accident prone , but it also increases your chance of survival .
- 3. This kind of combination leaves many democracies more prone to political violence than the dictatorships they replaced .
- 4. Arts and humanities graduates are the most prone to exaggerating achievements suggesting their creativity is often carried over into their resumes .
- 5. In the eurozone , generally considered more prone to deflation than the us , the gap is still 1.5 percentage points .