prose

adjective

Definition of prosenext
as in unpoetic

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of prose His writing there was electrically interesting, combining anecdote, music and cultural criticism, and a distinct prose style that leaped from thought to thought with total trust that the reader would follow. — Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 2 June 2026 Assorted writers across professions are being falsely accused of using AI if their prose style happens to match that of a large language model. — Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 30 May 2026 The ancient prose treatise on the subject of pleasure (kama) provides a brief discussion of men of a third nature (tritiya prakriti) who take the form of women or men. — Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 May 2026 But Carlos Orsi, a scientific journalist with a punchy prose style, gives a lot of credit to what astrology has meant to human beings over the past thousands of years. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 20 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for prose
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prose
  1. unpoetic
  2. prosaic
  3. literal
Adjective
  • This was an obtuse and unpoetic diktat, a showy way to miss the fact that a song’s history—its use over time, by real people, inspired by the exigencies of ritual and action—can inform its meaning more than its mere lyrics ever could.
    — Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 15 July 2022
  • Atlanta and its suburbs are a surprisingly Whitmanesque experiment in pluralism, in which unpoetic concrete strip malls substitute for lyrical spears of summer grass.
    — Sanjena Sathian, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2021
Definition of unpoetic
Adjective
  • While the house is bursting with artwork that would make most museum curators envious, Herman’s home is surprisingly humble, built on a tight budget from prosaic materials.
    — Marissa Gluck, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Trump’s extravagant welcome gesture will almost certainly be matched by prosaic summit outcomes.
    — Andy Browne, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of prosaic
Adjective
  • The result was less a literal biker wardrobe than an exchange of visual codes between performance machinery and fashion.
    — Footwear News, Footwear News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • In these situations, withdrawing into a literal or symbolic dark room—avoiding sources of stress and going to a safe place—can be adaptive in the short term.
    — Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of literal

Browse Nearby Words

proscriptions
prose
prosecute
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Prose.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prose. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All