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indrawn

[in-drawn]
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adjective
  1. reserved; introspective: a quiet, indrawn man.
  2. made with the breath drawn in: an indrawn sigh.
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Origin of indrawn

First recorded in 1745–55; in-1 + drawn
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for indrawn

Historical Examples

  • He checked on a long, shuddering, indrawn breath that was horrible to hear.

    The Sea-Hawk

    Raphael Sabatini

  • He paused midway in his phrase with indrawn breath, waiting for her reply.

    "Unto Caesar"

    Baroness Emmuska Orczy

  • But Bianca's lips, parted, indrawn, seemed saying: 'You ask too much!

    Fraternity

    John Galsworthy

  • "I wish it were—I wish it were," she repeated, with an indrawn sigh.

    The Motor Pirate

    George Sidney Paternoster

  • "It is so strange," said Hanny, with a long, indrawn breath.

    A Little Girl of Long Ago

    Amanda Millie Douglas

British Dictionary definitions for indrawn

indrawn

adjective
  1. drawn or pulled in
  2. inward-looking or introspective
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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

Word Origin and History for indrawn

adj.

also in-drawn, 1751, from in (adv.) + past tense of draw (v.). Middle English had indrawing "action of drawing in" (late 14c.). The plain verb indraw is rare, late 19c., and might be a back-formation.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper