Words / C1

PROHN/prəʊn/

Prone means likely to suffer or do something, usually unwelcome: prone to error, accident-prone. Also lying face down (prone position). Likely is everyday; susceptible is a close cousin. Prawn is a lookalike in speech if you are tired. Do not call a careful process “prone” without a pattern.

Meaning

Likely to suffer from or do something, often something bad (prone to); also lying face down.

Examples

• “The old portal was prone to timeouts on Monday mornings.”
• “The old portal was prone to timeouts every Monday at nine.”
• “Likely to is everyday. Prone to + noun/gerund. Supine is face up; prone is face down in first aid. A one-off crash is not a prone system until it repeats.”

Good to know

Liable to (prone to); also face-down. Everyday: likely to. First-aid contrast: supine (face up). Needs a pattern, not one incident.

Near in meaning

likely

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