SOO-pyne

Definition

(adjective) Failing to act or resist; passive and yielding, especially when action is urgently needed.

Example

The board’s supine response to the mounting crisis — endless meetings, no decisions, no accountability — allowed a manageable problem to become a catastrophic one.

Word Origin

Supine derives from the Latin supinus, meaning “lying face upward” or “thrown backward,” rooted in the same base as sub- (“under”). It entered English in the 15th century with both its literal meaning — lying flat on one’s back — and its figurative sense of moral or intellectual passivity. The physical image is the etymology: a person flat on their back, facing the sky, unable or unwilling to rise and meet what’s coming.