protract
verb
transitive verb
Synonyms
- drag (out)
- draw out
- elongate
- extend
- lengthen
- outstretch
- prolong
- stretch
Example Sentences
Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 18 Feb. 2022 Epidemics can be short-lived or protracted, or, like the Justinianic plague, recurrent. Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2020 The process of making sourdough is protracted, but Petrarca and Richardson said the crusty, tangy result is worth the effort. David Lindquist, Indianapolis Star, 16 Apr. 2020 Ammon Bundy is the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who in 2014 engaged in a protracted battled with the federal Bureau of Land Management over grazing rights for his cattle. Anna-maja Rappard, CNN, 9 Apr. 2020 Some of these regions have protracted and incredibly violent conflicts. John D'anna, azcentral, 17 Dec. 2019 Instead of yielding an emphatic victory for one side and, conversely, an incontrovertible defeat for the other, modern armed conflicts are prone to descend into protracted, drawn out endgames. Cian O'driscoll, Quartz, 2 Dec. 2019 But the road to the referendum was protracted and bloody. The Economist, 23 Nov. 2019 In his speech, Johnson delivered what amounted to a breezy dismissal of May’s protracted and ultimately unsuccessful efforts to win lawmakers’ approval for a divorce agreement with the EU. Christina Boyle, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2019 See More Word History
Latin protractus, past participle of protrahere, literally, to draw forward, from pro- forward + trahere to draw — more at pro-
1540, in the meaning defined at sense 3
Kids Definition
protract
verb
Medical Definition
protract
transitive verb
protract
verb
Synonyms & Similar Words
- lengthen
- prolong
- extend
- increase
- stretch
- elongate
- draw out
- outstretch
- expand
- enlarge
- attenuate
- drag (out)
- amplify
- thin
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- shorten
- curtail
- abridge
- reduce
- abbreviate
- cut
- diminish
- lessen
- decrease
- thicken
- cut back
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of protract are extend, lengthen, and prolong. While all these words mean "to draw out or add to so as to increase in length," protract adds to prolong implications of needlessness, vexation, or indefiniteness.
Both extend and lengthen imply a drawing out in space or time but extend may also imply increase in width, scope, area, or range.
In some situations, the words prolong and protract are roughly equivalent. However, prolong suggests chiefly increase in duration especially beyond usual limits.