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Definition of "supine" [su•pine]

  • Lying on the back or having the face upward. (adjective)
  • Having the palm upward. Used of the hand. (adjective)
  • Marked by or showing lethargy, passivity, or blameworthy indifference. See Synonyms at inactive. (adjective)
  • Inclined; sloping. (adjective)
  • Grammar A defective Latin verbal noun of the fourth declension, having very limited syntax and only two cases, an accusative in -tum or -sum and an ablative in -tū or -sū. The accusative form is sometimes considered to be the fourth principal part of the Latin verb. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "supine" in a sentence
  • "Still, you've got to ask yourself – how supine is a journalist who permits himself to be TOLD if he can or can't write down something he is told?"
  • "If you are wont to opine: “if you have done nothing wrong, then you have nothing to fear”, you will, of course, remain supine and do nothing."
  • "Effects of VIAGRA on Blood Pressure: Single oral doses of sildenafil (100 mg) administered to healthy volunteers produced decreases in supine blood pressure."