protract

verb

pro·​tract prō-ˈtrakt 

prə-

protracted; protracting; protracts

transitive verb

1

: to prolong in time or space : continue

2

: to extend forward or outward compare retract sense 1

3

archaic : delay, defer

protractive

prō-ˈtrak-tiv 

prə-

adjective

Synonyms

• drag (out)
• draw out
• elongate
• extend
• lengthen
• outstretch
• prolong
• stretch

Choose the Right Synonym for protract

extend, lengthen, prolong, protract mean to draw out or add to so as to increase in length.

extend and lengthen imply a drawing out in space or time but extend may also imply increase in width, scope, area, or range.

extend a vacation

extend welfare services

lengthen a skirt

lengthen the workweek

prolong suggests chiefly increase in duration especially beyond usual limits.

prolonged illness

protract adds to prolong implications of needlessness, vexation, or indefiniteness.

protracted litigation

Examples of protract in a Sentence

the highway project was protracted by years of litigation

Recent Examples on the Web

But Napoleon is protracted, as if running time and rambling narrative incidents (the back-and-forth from battlefield to Josephine) amounted to substance. —Armond White, National Review, 24 Nov. 2023

New Zealand’s mixed member proportional voting system makes such power-sharing arrangements the norm in the nation of 5 million, and coalition negotiations are often protracted as parties try to find common ground and divide up cabinet responsibilities. —Michael E. Miller, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023

But protracted stays in microgravity (the current record, 437 days, was set by the Russian astronaut Valeri Polyakov in 1995) make for painful recoveries. —Kim Tingley, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2023

Hong Kong’s 2019 pro-democracy protests were the largest and most protracted in the city’s history. —Ellen Bork, WSJ, 7 Nov. 2023

Photo: lim huey teng/Reuters Malaysia’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Thursday as expected, and said the country’s growth outlook continues to face risks such as weak external demand and protracted declines in commodities production. —Ying Xian Wong, WSJ, 2 Nov. 2023

What is more, whereas most of Europe’s hard-right parties are moderating their discourse in their quest for power, the AfD’s radical wing has won a bitter and protracted struggle for internal dominance and makes no effort to hide its radical views. —Liana Fix, Foreign Affairs, 10 Oct. 2023

Disagreements among advisers, while at times robust and protracted, have barely surfaced in the press. —Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2023

Negotiations for the release of the Israeli prisoners will be complex and protracted. —Kim Ghattas, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Latin protractus, past participle of protrahere, literally, to draw forward, from pro- forward + trahere to draw — more at pro-

First Known Use

1540, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Kids Definition

protract

verb

pro·​tract prō-ˈtrakt 

: prolong

Medical Definition

protract

transitive verb

pro·​tract prō-ˈtrakt 

: to extend forward or outward

the mandible is protracted and retracted in chewing

compare retract