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Glite Dictionary
🛠️ To remove 🗣️ To encourage talking ⏳ To make longer
to draw out

to draw out

9 4.0
Make a conversation or event last longer than usual
  • phrasal verb
  • /drɔː aʊt/
translation icon : prolongar
  • There’s no need to draw this out.
  • long and drawn out

Stop letting these things be drawn out so long and dealing with individuals who do not belong in your life.

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Examples

  • Gorvitz waited, challenging them, drawing out the silence until it was acutely uncomfortable.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Feeling her against me, I wanted to draw out each moment, to hold on to what I knew must pass.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • That way he can draw out the negotiation and process.

  • But I do think that somehow the, the referendum debate would be wrong if we didn't at least draw out those two major issues.

  • The meeting was unnecessarily drawn out, making it hard for everyone to stay focused.

  • She decided to draw out the process, hoping to gain more time for her research.

  • The teacher tends to draw out the lesson, which sometimes makes the class feel longer.

Synonyms

to extend
vsto draw out
680 3.2

To make something reach farther, such as more places or people

is limited to extending time rather than area or influence
to prolong
vsto draw out
96 3.9

To make something last longer

uses the same time extension idea but may sound more general
to drag out
vsto draw out
  • Informal
23 5.1

Make something last longer than needed, causing boredom or frustration

is the neutral idea of making time last longer without negative effect
to protract
vsto draw out
4 7.8

To make something last longer than it needs to

is identical in meaning and focuses on prolonging time rather than other senses
to string out
vsto draw out
  • Informal
2 6.3

To make something last longer than needed, often on purpose

expresses the same continuation but without the unnecessary or deliberate tone
to spin out
vsto draw out
  • Informal
1 5.6

To make something last longer than needed

focuses on lengthening time generally rather than on intent
to spin-out
vsto draw out
  • Informal
6.7

To make something last longer by making it finish later

is similar but does not always imply deliberate prolonging

Antonyms

to shorten
45 2.3

Make something shorter, for example an article, skirt, or route

to hasten
12 4.6

Make something happen sooner

How Long

to protract
4 7.8
to draw out
9 4.0
to prolong
96 3.9
to extend
680 3.2
to lengthen
34 2.4

Surface Forms

draw out infinitive
drawing out present participle
draws out third person singular
drew out past
drawn out past participle

Morphology

draw + out

The sense 'to make something last longer' is a metaphorical extension of the spatial idea of 'drawing/pulling out' in time, so a learner who knows 'draw' (pull) and 'out' (outward) can often infer a prolonging meaning. However the mapping is figurative and the verb also has related senses (e.g. 'to elicit'), so the exact meaning and usage are not fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

Draw out comes from the image of draw as pull and out as making something longer, like slowly pulling a piece of cloth to stretch it. So it means 'to make something last longer'.