protract

[ proh-trakt, pruh- ]
See synonyms for protract on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to draw out or lengthen, especially in time; extend the duration of; prolong.

  2. Anatomy. to extend or protrude.

  1. (in surveying, mathematics, etc.) to plot and draw (lines) with a scale and a protractor.

Origin of protract

1
First recorded in 1540–50, protract is from the Latin word prōtractus (past participle of prōtrahere “to draw forth, prolong”). See pro-1, tract1

synonym study For protract

1. See lengthen.

Other words for protract

Opposites for protract

Other words from protract

  • pro·tract·ed·ly, adverb
  • pro·tract·ed·ness, noun
  • pro·tract·i·ble, adjective
  • pro·trac·tive, adjective
  • o·ver·pro·tract, verb (used with object)
  • un·pro·tract·ed, adjective
  • un·pro·trac·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use protract in a sentence

  • Many wonders are related of the effects of abstinence, in the cure of several disorders, and in protracting the term of life.

  • The uneasiness, which the protracting of this negotiation gave the Prince, threw him into an ague.

  • Still he sat smoking and protracting his coffee, and haughtily playing that he was not starving for companionship.

    What Will People Say? | Rupert Hughes
  • In regard to the effects of protracting the time spent in repose, many extensive and satisfactory investigations have been made.

    A Treatise on Domestic Economy | Catherine Esther Beecher
  • We are said to drawl our words by protracting the vowels and giving them a more diphthongal sound than the English.

    The Verbalist | Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres)

British Dictionary definitions for protract

protract

/ (prəˈtrækt) /


verb(tr)
  1. to lengthen or extend (a speech, etc); prolong in time

  2. (of a muscle) to draw, thrust, or extend (a part, etc) forwards

  1. to plot or draw using a protractor and scale

Origin of protract

1
C16: from Latin prōtrahere to prolong, from pro- 1 + trahere to drag

Derived forms of protract

  • protractive, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012