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YOUR VOCABULARY, ONE WORD AT A TIME

prosaic

Adjective

IPA /prəˈzeɪɪk/

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Meaning in plain English

Ordinary and lacking imagination or excitement, especially when compared with something more interesting, romantic or unusual.

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Pronunciation

prosaic/prəˈzeɪɪk/

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  1. An imagined explanation is extraordinary

  2. The real explanation is simply the cat

A prosaic explanation is ordinary and lacks the excitement of the imagined one.

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  1. The mystery had a prosaic explanation: the cat had moved the keys.
  2. The editor wanted a vivid opening instead of the writer's prosaic description.

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The mystery had a ________ explanation: the cat had moved the keys.
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prosaic — Ordinary and lacking imagination or excitement, especially when compared with something more interesting, romantic or unusual.

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Ordinary and lacking imagination or excitement, especially when compared with something more interesting, romantic or unusual.

Compare: The mystery had a prosaic explanation: the cat had moved the keys.

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Word origin

From Latin prosaicus, related to prosa, meaning prose or straightforward discourse.

Did you know?

Prosaic is related to prose, but modern prose writing can be imaginative and exciting.

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prosaic

/prəˈzeɪɪk/ (Adjective)

“Prosaic is often disapproving. It describes dull ordinariness, not everything written in prose.”

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