protract
Americanverb (used with object)
-
protracts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
protracted,
past participle, past
-
protracting
present participle
-
to draw out or lengthen, especially in time; extend the duration of; prolong.
- Synonyms:
- continue
- Antonyms:
- curtail
-
Anatomy. to extend or protrude.
-
(in surveying, mathematics, etc.) to plot and draw (lines) with a scale and a protractor.
verb
-
to lengthen or extend (a speech, etc); prolong in time
-
(of a muscle) to draw, thrust, or extend (a part, etc) forwards
-
to plot or draw using a protractor and scale
Synonym Usage
See lengthen.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
protractednessnoun
-
overprotractverb (used with object)
-
protractibleadjective
-
protractiveadjective
-
unprotractedadjective
-
unprotractiveadjective
-
protractedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
protractsimple
-
protractssimple
-
have protractedperfect
-
has protractedperfect
-
am protractingprogressive
-
are protractingprogressive
-
is protractingprogressive
-
have been protractingperfect progressive
-
has been protractingperfect progressive
Past
-
protractedsimple
-
had protractedperfect
-
was protractingprogressive
-
were protractingprogressive
-
had been protractingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of protract
First recorded in 1540–50, protract is from the Latin word prōtractus (past participle of prōtrahere “to draw forth, prolong”). See pro- 1, tract 1
Explanation
To protract something is to stretch it out. If you have a disagreement with a friend that you continue for weeks and weeks, you are protracting the argument. Protract can also mean to draw a plan to scale. Basically when you protract something, you draw it out. You may remember from geometry that a protractor is a device used to draw exact angles. A protractor allows you to protract a plan for the perfect catapult — perfect to use to end a protracted battle.
Vocabulary lists containing protract
tract
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
tract
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Vocabulary from Readings 6, Unit 3
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
The director allows her protagonist’s pain to protract and pulsate without narrative fuss; even scenes of turmoil unspool with a deliberate delicacy.
From New York Times ● Mar. 23, 2023
The judges agreed with a lower court that continuing treatment “serves only to protract his death.”
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 3, 2022
Last week, Mr Justice Hayden ruled that continued treatment was "futile" and that it "serves only to protract his death, whilst being unable to prolong his life".
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2022
Associated Newspapers "have a right to this trial, and I think that that is just going to protract the pain for Meghan Markle," Stephens said.
From Fox News ● Dec. 2, 2021
I brushed the lever lightly, listening as the hydraulic cylinders hissed softly to protract.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
The episodic nature of the work protracts the ending.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2023
“If the conflict protracts, the Ukrainians have more leverage to be able to negotiate,” Watling said.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 3, 2022
What distinguishes this pandemic as a traumatic experience, she said, is that no one knows when it will end, which protracts anxiety.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2020
Matthew Warchus's revival protracts the overall experience to three hours... at least a small part of this excess is attributable to the meal Spall makes of his lines.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2016
The poet's characterization of her as she protracts the story to avoid the final confession reveals an ambitious though somewhat unpracticed art.
From Vergil A Biography by Tenney Frank
In China, higher crude prices -- combined with "protracted uncertainty and structural headwinds" -- led the IMF to slightly downgrade its July projection for the country's annual growth to 4.5 percent.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
His sentencing will conclude a dramatic and protracted downfall for a preacher who at one point been preparing to take NOS global with expansion to the US.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
That bill, called the Clarity Act, collapsed this week after months of protracted negotiations when senators officially voted it down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
“With inflation above target for a protracted period, there is a risk of broader price pressures taking hold,” Fed governor Michael Barr said last week.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
Another pause, more protracted, and then — “Without Harry Potter?” breathed the second voice softly.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
It’s good that the bar at Itsumono is a fine hangout, because as the place fills up you will hang out, with waits between drinks protracting even with two barkeeps at work.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2023
Something cognate to this in the comparison of the power and the greatness of a motive will explain the persistent fatuity of the Boer in protracting his contest with Great Britain.
From Fetichism in West Africa Forty Years' Observations of Native Customs and Superstitions by Robert Hamill Nassau
Such politic concessions by the Spaniards had doubtless their influence in opening the eyes of the Morisco leaders to the folly of protracting the war in their present desperate circumstances.
From History of The Reign of Philip The Second King of Spain Volume The Third and Biographical & Critical Miscellanies by William Hickling Prescott
For his, indeed, was true Youth's temperament,—summary with sadness, swift to joyfulness, and long protracting, and detaining with that joyfulness, when once it came fully nigh to him.
From Pierre; or The Ambiguities by Herman Melville
The day upon which Rauné's report was in the newspapers they resolved to lay down their arms; there seemed no good in protracting the struggle.
From Black Diamonds by Mór Jókai
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
