a. [ L. pronus, akin to Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, Skr. pravana sloping, inclined, and also to L. pro forward, for. See Pro-. ] [ 1913 Webster ] 1. Bending forward; inclined; not erect. [ 1913 Webster ] Towards him they bend With awful reverence prone. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. Prostrate; flat; esp., lying with the face down; -- opposed to supine. [ 1913 Webster ] Which, as the wind, Blew where it listed, laying all things prone. Byron. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. Headlong; running downward or headlong. “Down thither prone in flight.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ] 4. Sloping, with reference to a line or surface; declivous; inclined; not level. [ 1913 Webster ] Since the floods demand, For their descent, a prone and sinking land. Blackmore. [ 1913 Webster ] 5. Inclined; propense; disposed; -- applied to the mind or affections, usually in an ill sense. Followed by to. “Prone to mischief.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] Poets are nearly all prone to melancholy. Landor. [ 1913 Webster ] |