drawl
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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drawls,
present (3rd person singular)
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drawled,
past participle, past
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drawling
present participle
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
drawlsimple
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drawlssimple
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have drawledperfect
-
has drawledperfect
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am drawlingprogressive
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are drawlingprogressive
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is drawlingprogressive
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have been drawlingperfect progressive
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has been drawlingperfect progressive
Past
-
drawledsimple
-
had drawledperfect
-
was drawlingprogressive
-
were drawlingprogressive
-
had been drawlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of drawl
1590–1600; < Dutch or Low German dralen to linger
Explanation
A drawl is a distinctively slow, drawn-out way of talking that's especially common in the U.S. South. A writer might describe a cowboy as speaking in a lazy drawl. A drawl tends to lengthen and extend vowel sounds in particular, so that words like "pet" or "pen" might be pronounced with two syllables, rather than one short one. While the Southern states are best known for inhabitants with drawls, Australian and New Zealand natives are also sometimes said to drawl. The word probably stems from the Dutch dralen, "delay" or "linger."
Vocabulary lists containing drawl
Instead of "Said": Words That Sound Like What They Mean
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As the car pulls into a parking garage, Blunt cracks jokes and does impressions, including one of her security guy Pat’s Southern drawl.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Luiz, a French cab driver ferrying festivalgoers around Cannes, does good impersonations of both a Long Island accent and a Southern drawl, said he loves talking with Americans.
From Salon ● May 22, 2026
Patricia Eddings, an expert in trace evidence, is short, with fiery red hair and a cheery Mississippi drawl.
From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2026
In her best quotable moments, she seamlessly infuses her sometimes shrill timbre with a dash of Southern drawl.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
“Thank God,” he said, with a hint of a Southern drawl.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
Wilson said no one in the music industry has told her to smooth out her drawls and y’alls, but she said plenty of people on social media question whether her accent is exaggerated.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 7, 2022
“Dark skin, light skin, beige” — Madison drawls on “Cozy” — “fluorescent beige.”
From New York Times ● Jul. 30, 2022
"Okay, I've been practicing my longest and loudest scream," drawls Rhian Teesdale in Wet Leg's scathing indie-pop anthem Ur Mum.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2022
“Saaaauce,” he drawls to his wife as he gazes upon his unwitting targets.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 1, 2022
“Now, Jane, that's what I call an entrance,” the sheriff drawls.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
Mosmo’s raw, drawled vocals can be heard in the romantic bélico “Modo B” and the agonizing “Terapia” that implores a past lover for their return.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026
"Sorry to the people who were expecting Patchwork," he drawled after the song ended.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2025
Gibbons drawled in the most famous 30-second spot touting Grape-Nuts as the "back-to-nature" cereal.
From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2023
“I got nothing — n-o-t-h-i-n-g,” he drawled to the reporters waiting outside the Democrats’ closed door lunchroom Thursday as it became clear there would be no Christmas deal.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 16, 2021
Captain Prince drawled, “Don’t you think you’ll need a shade, Mr. Bowditch?”
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
With Richards’s gnarled, withering guitar lines and Jagger drawling and declaiming, there’s no mistaking the band behind “Foreign Tongues.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
No matter what role he took on in a career that lasted more than five decades, Gambon was always instantly recognizable by the deep and drawling tones of his voice.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 28, 2023
Yes, this film isn’t some Beatles-inspired riff but a sequel to the twisty 2019 romp “Knives Out,” which introduced Daniel Craig as the drawling detective Benoit Blanc.
From New York Times ● Sep. 12, 2022
An imposing man who stood 6-feet-6 and weighed more than 250 pounds, Mr. LaBeef sang in a deep, drawling baritone.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 2, 2020
“This is absolutely fascinating, Mr. Ai,” said the host, Commensal Yegey, a delicate, dapper, drawling fellow with keen eyes.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
