drawn
Americanverb
adjective
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tense; haggard.
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eviscerated, as a fowl.
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Glassmaking.
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of or relating to the stem of a drinking glass that has been formed by stretching from a small mass of molten metal left at the base of the bowl of the vessel.
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of or relating to glass that is drawn over a series of rollers as it comes from the furnace.
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adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of drawn
First recorded in 1150–1200, for the adjective
Explanation
Drawn describes the look of someone who is tired, overworked, or ill. People will worry about you if your face looks drawn every morning because you stay up so late doing homework. The adjective drawn comes from the Old English verb dragan, which means to pull or to drag. Dragan is also the root for the artistic sense of the verb "draw," but drawn doesn't describe art. It can mean pulled closed, however. The drawn drapes keep your room so dark that it's always dark as night in there, which is good for sleeping, but bad when you have to get up early for school.
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.
The competing measures, which have drawn enough verified signatures to qualify for the November ballot, come at a time when the rising cost of healthcare is emerging as a top voter concern.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
In some previous years, the roads around the festival have become a highway to hell, with traffic management plans drawn up to keep festival-goers and Leicestershire locals on the move.
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
Kim, whose country has been historically reliant on China, has drawn closer to Moscow in recent years while expanding his country's nuclear weapons programme.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
It shares the operatic maximalism of Faena’s hotels in Buenos Aires and Miami, and has drawn glitzy guests who pay at least $1,395 for a room.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
“Emotion is the cornerstone of humanity, my child. It’s not something that can be avoided. Even my power is drawn from raw emotion. You’ve seen that, haven’t you?”
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
