prolonged
Americanadjective
-
lasting a long time; lengthy.
Regular or prolonged absence from school without a valid reason may result in the absentee being barred from examinations.
-
lengthened or extended in time or space.
Technological innovations in the ICU have led to artificially prolonged life, with associated costs.
Abnormally shortened or prolonged telomeres are a hallmark of cancer.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of prolonged
Explanation
Something prolonged is long and drawn-out — it's taking longer than it should. A prolonged wait is usually annoying. If a fan throws a drink on the court during a basketball game and it takes an hour to clean it up, and then another hour to re-wax the floor, and then another hour for the players to warm up again...that's a prolonged delay. Anything prolonged has been stretched out further than it should be. America's war with Vietnam was prolonged much longer than anyone expected. If something is tedious, time-consuming, and feels like it's taking forever, it's prolonged.
Vocabulary lists containing prolonged
The Call of the Wild
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Boy: Tales of Childhood
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Britain's Finest Hour Speech - Winston Churchill (1940)
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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.
“The continued lack of progress towards restoring normal energy flows from the Middle East is reinforcing expectations of a prolonged period of elevated oil prices,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
Judge Huw Rees said at the time of the offending, fraudulent activity had been "endemic" at the firm and he said it had engaged in "considerable dishonesty" over a prolonged period.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
A prolonged crisis and rising prices for crude and crude products would trigger more global inventory releases.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 6, 2026
And while strong earnings have been a key pillar for the stock rally, some fret that a prolonged war could erode future results.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
This was prolonged euphoria, better than the carrot the sluggers used to turn me into their trained monkey.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
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.
