How to use supine in a sentence

15 example sentences · adjective, noun

Supine means lying on its back. Example: “Such corruption is commonplace in a world of supine civil servants and underfunded ministries.”

Examples of supine by meaning

adjectiveLying on its back.

He lay supine for a moment, his eyes moving to and fro.1957 March 7, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 4.8, in Pnin, Heinemann, page 108

adjectiveReluctant to take action due to indifference or moral weakness; apathetic or passive towards something.

Such corruption is commonplace in a world of supine civil servants and underfunded ministries.
This conclusion is noteworthy given that the European Court has in the past adopted a deferential if not supine approach when assessing the legality of derogations under Article 15.2009 July, Mark Elliott, “Torture, Deportation and Extra-judicial Detention: Instruments of the ‘War on Terror’”, in Cambridge Law Journal...
A single slice of this could leave you supine in front of the Queen's speech without even the wherewithal to reach for the remote control.2011 December 15, Felicity Cloake, “How to cook the perfect nut roast”, in The Guardian, London, archived from the original on 02 Jan 2018

nounIn Latin and other languages: a type of verbal noun used in the ablative and accusative cases, which shares the same...

The chapter focuses on the supine clause, which is a language-specific construction.2016, Virginia Hill, Gabriela Albiou, “Supine Clauses: On the Road to Balkanization”, in Verb Movement and Clause Structure in Old Romanian...

More sentences with supine

In general, the patient is placed supine on a flexible operation table.2012, Hans-Ulrich Schulz, René Mantke, Hans Lippert M.D., edited by René Mantke, Hans Lippert, Markus W. Büchler, and Michael G. Sarr…. From the entry hollow back
So now all our supplies were supine along with the napping packhorse.2010, Bill G. Yung, The Half Fast Hunter, page 41. From the entry packhorse
The Ho-Umetsu “agreement” was stuffed down the throat of supine China.2005, Israel Epstein, History Should Not be Forgotten, Beijing: China Intercontinental Press (五洲传播出版社), →ISBN, page 19. From the entry Chahar
They met over his supine body like ocean breakers, cascading, fountaining into the air.1978, Tom Reamy, Blind Voices. From the entry fountain
Following the practice trials, subjects performed three Valsalva maneuver trials in each of three postures - supine, sitting and standing.1996, Emilie Alexandra Luster, Effects of Hypovolemia and Posture on Responses to the Valsalva Maneuver, University of California, Davis…. From the entry Valsalva maneuver
"Stop him once, George, he shouldn't swallow!" Leonid, supine, had decided to wave one arm and sing as he expired.1981, John Barth, Giles goat-boy. From the entry freehood
This is the famous Harold Halma shot of young Capote supine on a sofa, facing the camera with his baby bangs and seductive gaze.2012, Christopher Bram, Eminent Outlaws: The Gay Writers Who Changed America. From the entry baby bangs
While they ultimately came to the same conclusion, the pre-emptive tweet made it harder to rebut the court's judgment that they were “supine servants of an overweening master”.2024 May 18, Tabby Kinder, Stephen Morris, “Tesla chair on Musk: ‘I might wake up to a tweet. I don’t wake up to a strategy shift’”, in FT…. From the entry overweening
The young woodwose had now closed his eyes and was stretched out supine on the pool's marble margin; his Tarzan brief had been cast aside on the turf.1962, Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire. From the entry woodwose
He foreread like a placard Jeanne d'Etoiles' magnificent scheme: it would convulse all Europe, while England would remain supine, simply because Neweastle was a fool and Ormskirk would be dead.1907, Harper's magazine, volume 114. From the entry foreread

Meaning of supine

adjective Lying on its back.
adjective Of the hand, forearm or foot, turned facing toward the body or upward: with the thumb outward (palm up), or with the big toe raised relative to the little toe.
adjective Reluctant to take action due to indifference or moral weakness; apathetic or passive towards something.

Full definition of supine

Questions about supine in a sentence

How do you use supine in a sentence?: Supine is used as an adjective and noun. For example: “Such corruption is commonplace in a world of supine civil servants and underfunded ministries.”
What is a short sentence with supine?: “The Ho-Umetsu “agreement” was stuffed down the throat of supine China.”
What does supine mean?: Supine means lying on its back.

Adapted from Wiktionary: supine (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use supine in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/supine. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.