protract

American  

[proh-trakt, pruh-] / proʊˈtrækt, prə- /

verb (used with object)

• protracts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• protracted,
  past participle,  past
• protracting
  present participle

1. to draw out or lengthen, especially in time; extend the duration of; prolong.

   Synonyms:

   continue

   Antonyms:

   curtail

2. Anatomy. to extend or protrude.

3. (in surveying, mathematics, etc.) to plot and draw (lines) with a scale and a protractor.

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protract British  

/ prəˈtrækt /

verb

1. to lengthen or extend (a speech, etc); prolong in time

2. (of a muscle) to draw, thrust, or extend (a part, etc) forwards

3. to plot or draw using a protractor and scale

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Synonym Usage

See lengthen.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• protractedness
  noun
• overprotract
  verb (used with object)
• protractible
  adjective
• protractive
  adjective
• unprotracted
  adjective
• unprotractive
  adjective
• protractedly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• protracting
  present
• protracted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• protract
  simple
• protracts
  simple
• have protracted
  perfect
• has protracted
  perfect
• am protracting
  progressive
• are protracting
  progressive
• is protracting
  progressive
• have been protracting
  perfect progressive
• has been protracting
  perfect progressive

Past

• protracted
  simple
• had protracted
  perfect
• was protracting
  progressive
• were protracting
  progressive
• had been protracting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will protract
  simple
• will have protracted
  perfect
• will be protracting
  progressive
• will have been protracting
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

protract protracts protracted protracting

He said continuing treatment would only protract his death.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 25, 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

“Trying to fight that is so difficult,” she said, in part because the sovereign citizens often purposely protract litigation to stall efforts to remove them.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 26, 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

And it is for our sakes that God in like manner protracts the period of anticipation and non-fulfilment.

From Expositions of Holy Scripture Psalms by Alexander Maclaren

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 the market closed until January, the club are now in the process of finalising an agreement with manager Mikel Arteta over his protracted new contract.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

“Could the equity market move into a more protracted downturn if CPI is well out of consensus tomorrow?” said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist for Nationwide.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 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

The gray, despairing weariness of protracted maneuvers and combat did not touch him.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

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

The second defect is the undue licence allowed to the legal profession of protracting the hearing of cases secondary in their importance by the accumulation of unnecessary evidence and cross-examination.

From Social Transformations of the Victorian Age A Survey of Court and Country by T. H. S. (Thomas Hay Sweet) Escott

Can you not see how they are protracting the war, when you consider that one man of the people, our own Minucius, when he commanded the four legions, was sufficient for the enemy?

From The Lion's Brood by Duffield Osborne

I suggest that we gain nothing by protracting this scene in the face of a crowded assembly.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 20 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson

A cold, cloudy, raw, and disagreeable spell happening at this period, though by no means common, will retard the operation considerably, protracting the period of helplessness.

From Rambles of a Naturalist by John D. Godman

Related Words

• prolong
• put off