What does prosify mean?
Prosify means to make something prosaic: to render it as plain, unadorned prose or to strip away qualities associated with verse, emotion, or imaginative language. The verb is relatively uncommon and is used especially in literary and critical discussion. Its literal application is to the conversion of verse into prose, but figurative uses are also common. A critic might say that summarizing a poem prosifies it, meaning that the summary removes the vivid imagery, rhythm, or emotional intensity of the original. The word can suggest an undesirable flattening effect rather than a neutral change of form, so it often carries a mildly critical or disapproving tone. Prosify is related in meaning to prosaic and derives from prose together with the verb-forming suffix -ify. Because the term is specialized and somewhat expressive, plain alternatives such as make prosaic or render into prose may be preferable in general writing.
verbTo make something prosaic or give it the character of plain, unadorned prose. It can refer literally to converting verse into prose or figuratively to making a subject or style seem dry and matter-of-fact.
- To make something prosaic, especially by converting verse into prose or stripping away poetic or emotional qualities.
"The adaptation risks prosifying a play whose poetic language is central to its effect."
"Translating the lyric into dialogue gradually prosified the emotional force of the original."
"The critic argued that summarizing the novel had prosified a story whose power lay in its imagery."
Prosify sounds like a command to drain a poem of its music, but it can also describe the quieter process of making any expressive subject sound matter-of-fact.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does prosify come from?
Prosify was formed in English by combining prose with the suffix -ify, meaning to make or turn into. Prose comes through Old French from Latin prosa, meaning plain or straightforward, ultimately associated with the feminine of prosaus, “plain, unadorned.” The same Latin source also underlies prosaic, which describes writing or style as lacking poetic or imaginative qualities.
Related word forms
How prosify is actually used
Prosify is relatively uncommon and chiefly literary, formal, or critical. It often carries a negative implication that something vivid or poetic has been reduced to plain, unimaginative prose.
Easily confused with prosify
Prose is the form of written or spoken language that is not verse, whereas prosify is the verb describing the act of making something prose-like or rendering it as prose.