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Prosaic

Lacking in imagination or creativity; dull and ordinary in style, especially in writing that resembles prose rather than poetry.

adjective

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Imagine This

Picture a keynote speaker at a conference delivering a long, factual slideshow full of numbers and dates, with no colorful imagery or metaphor. The talk feels prosaic and sleep-inducing, as if it could be written in plain newsprint.

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Sounds Like

PROH-zay-ik

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Looks Like

Looks like the word 'prose' with an -ic ending, hinting at plain language as opposed to poetry.

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Remember This

Etymology: from Latin prosaicus 'in prose' (as opposed to poetry), from prosa 'prose.' The word often describes writing or speech that is plainly ordinary rather than artistic.

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Other Forms

prosaicallyadverb

prosaicitynoun

prosaicnessnoun

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Connect With

prose, poetry, banal, mundane, pedestrian, imaginative, lyrical, artistic

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Note

Do not confuse prosaic with practicalor utilitarian; prosaic refers to a lack of imagination or beauty in style, not usefulness. It can describe writing, speech, or situations that feel unimaginative.

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Study Deeper

Examples

The professor's lecture was prosaic, filled with charts and statistics but lacking engaging stories or insights.
Her travel diary turned prosaic when she stopped using vivid imagery and wrote only about distances and times.

Synonyms

dullboringmundanebanalpedestrian

Antonyms

poeticimaginativelyrical

Etymology

From Latin prosaicus 'in prose' (as opposed to poetry), derived from prosa 'prose' with the common -ic suffix in English.

Mnemonic

Plain Prose, Not Poetry: If something is prosaic, it sounds like plain prose rather than poetic language.