prone Meaning, Definition & Usage

adjective satellite having a tendency (to); often used in combination
- a child prone to mischief
- failure-prone
adjective satellite lying face downward
prostrate.

L. pronus, akin to Gr. , , Skr. pravana sloping, inclined, and also to L. pro forward, for. See Pro-.

Bending forward; inclined; not erect.
Towards him they bend With awful reverence prone. Milton.
Prostrate; flat; esp., lying with the face down; -- opposed to supine.
Which, as the wind, Blew where it listed, laying all things prone. Byron.
Headlong; running downward or headlong. "Down thither prone in flight." Milton.
Sloping, with reference to a line or surface; declivous; inclined; not level.
Since the floods demand, For their descent, a prone and sinking land. Blackmore.
Inclined; propense; disposed; -- applied to the mind or affections, usually in an ill sense. Followed by to. "Prone to mischief." Shak.
Poets are nearly all prone to melancholy. Landor.