prose
- 01 C1 Advanced
n.written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without the rhyming or rhythm of a poem.
n.language in its ordinary form, lacking the metrical structure or rhythmic constraints of verse.
Simple“The author is famous for her clear and simple prose.”
In context“While his poetry was often dense and difficult to follow, his prose was remarkably lucid and accessible to the general public.”
UsageUsually uncountable and used without an article.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
n.language or talk that is boring and lacks imagination.
n.discourse that is dull, commonplace, or lacking in creative animation.
Simple“The speech was full of the usual political prose and offered no new ideas.”
In context“The report was written in such dry, bureaucratic prose that it was nearly impossible to stay focused while reading it.”
SynonymsbanalitytediumAntonyms - 03 C2 Proficiency
v.to write or talk in a very boring and long-winded way.
v.to write or speak in a tedious, unimaginative, or prosy manner.
Simple“He would prose on for hours about his childhood memories.”
In context“The professor tended to prose about minor historical details, losing the interest of his students within the first ten minutes of the lecture.”
“Even when not lascivious, Berry-Dee’s prose can be mercilessly cruel.”
“By its nature, poetry expresses what can’t be said in prose; it can be resistant, you can snag on it.”
From Middle English prose, from Old French prose, from Latin prōsa (“straightforward”) from the term prōsa ōrātiō (“a straightforward speech – i.e. without the ornaments of verse”). further etymology and related terms The term prōsa (“straightforward”), a colloquial form of prorsa (“straight forwards”), the feminine form prorsus (“straight forwards”), from Old Latin prōvorsus (“moving straight ahead”), from pro- (“forward”) + vorsus (“turned”), form of vertō (“I turn”). Compare verse.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.