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
The prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz to most commercial shipping has driven up gasoline and other commodity prices, with pump prices up nearly 50% since the start of the year.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026
Kismet was also ordered to pay £259,298 in costs, with a judge saying the company had engaged in "considerable dishonesty" over a prolonged period of time.
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
For the first time I got out the bug bomb and sprayed heavily, and Charley broke into a sneezing attack so violent and prolonged that I had finally to carry him out in my arms.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
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.
