prose

1 of 4

noun

1
a
: the ordinary language people use in speaking or writing
b
: a literary medium distinguished from poetry especially by its greater irregularity and variety of rhythm and its closer correspondence to the patterns of everyday speech
2
: a dull or ordinary style, quality, or condition

prose

2 of 4

adjective

1
: of, relating to, or written in prose
2

prose

3 of 4

verb

prosed; prosing

intransitive verb

1
: to write prose
2
: to write or speak in a dull or ordinary manner

pro se

4 of 4

adjective or adverb

: on one's own behalf : without an attorney
a pro se action
a defendant's right to proceed pro se

Examples of prose in a Sentence

Noun … the esteemed critic James Wood reaches out to assure "the common reader" … that his prose is as free as he can make it of what James Joyce termed "the true scholastic stink" of so much academic writing. Walter Kirn, New York Times Book Review, 17 Aug. 2008
Like many two-person writing teams, this one produces its share of three-legged prose and redundancy. James McManus, New York Times Book Review, 15 Apr. 2001
In my own work I felt a need to hurry from climax as in film montage, or even in Joycean prose with its strings of firecracker words … Arthur Miller, Timebends, 1987
She writes in very clear prose. Verb 'In the meantime,' said Traddles, coming back to his chair; 'and this is the end of my prosing about myself, I get on as well as I can. I don't make much, but I don't spend much … ' Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, 1850
Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
Gray was obviously a gifted storyteller, but by juxtaposing different source material the interviews punctuate the pain and darkness behind the prose. David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 14 Mar. 2025 The guests at the benefit are fools, but the prose artfully registers their contemptibility without overstating it, allowing Nila’s account of the scene to be at once wry and deeply pained. Anahid Nersessian, The New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
Or just a Fascist? February 22, 2025 Reading Time: 5 minutes Does a glorious prose style reflect a glorious quality in a writer’s soul? Paul Berman, airmail.news, 22 Feb. 2025 The style was archaic, Elizabethan even, not prose and yet not quite poetry. Joanna Biggs, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024
Adjective or adverb
Once in prison, Brown filed a series of pro se appeals and then obtained lawyers who filed a 440 motion to vacate the conviction. Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 13 Mar. 2025 The Scott County Law Library offers free legal clinics open to self-representing (pro se) litigants multiple times a month. Contributed Content, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for prose

Word History

Etymology

Noun, Adjective, and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin prosa, from feminine of prorsus, prosus, straightforward, being in prose, contraction of proversus, past participle of provertere to turn forward, from pro- forward + vertere to turn — more at pro-, worth

Adjective or adverb

Latin

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective Or Adverb

1861, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of prose was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Prose.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prose. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

prose

noun
ˈprōz
1
: the ordinary language that people use when they speak or write
2
: writing that does not have the repeating rhythm used in poetry
prose adjective

Legal Definition

pro se

adverb or adjective
ˈprō-ˈsā, -ˈsē
: on one's own behalf : without an attorney
a defendant's right to proceed pro se
a pro se action
Etymology

Adverb or adjective

Latin

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