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lengthy

lengthy

109 3.5
Lasting a long time and making people bored
  • adjective
  • /ˈlɛŋθi/
translation icon : largo
  • After a lengthy discussion, they finally reached an agreement that pleased both parties.
  • a lengthy process
  • lengthy negotiations
  • a lengthy discussion

I hadn't signed a lengthy sort of contract.

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Examples

  • Often, these youngsters have a lengthy history of youth care before and during their homelessness.

    Academic text (2008)
  • It was only after very lengthy and protracted discussions that we decided against recommending your offer to our shareholders.

  • You know, that was a very lengthy story you told about your brother.

  • You wrote me an e-mail at one point that was lengthy and thoughtful.

  • I'd had a very lengthy face to face on camera interview with him.

  • Because of the position of the tumor, the operation may be lengthy.

  • Dinner that night was a lengthy, awkward affair marked by long periods of silence.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • People wrote lengthy, detailed and often heart wrenching tales.

  • Matt Poncelet has had a lengthy, thorough court review.

  • Well, ma'am, what I want you to understand is that this may be a lengthy trial, and that you would be sequestered during deliberations.

Synonyms

endless
vslengthy
350 2.5

Continuing for a very long time and not stopping

refers to long duration but often with tiring, unnecessary feel
prolonged
vslengthy
69 3.9

Continuing for a longer time than usual

marks that this longness is often unnecessary or tedious
protracted
vslengthy
29 6.6

Continuing for a long time, often longer than expected

emphasizes duration that exceeds what is necessary or wanted
drawn-out
vslengthy
15 4.6

Lasting longer than needed and feeling tiring

focuses on longness that is prolonged and often tedious
interminable
vslengthy
13 7.5

Lasting a very long time and making you bored or annoyed

describes longness but with less extreme, never-ending sense
extended
vslengthy
11 4.0

Lasting longer than usual

carries a stronger sense of unnecessary or tedious longness
longish
vslengthy
  • Informal
4 2.5

A little bigger from one end to the other or lasting more than usual

expresses a stronger idea of excessive and tedious duration
overlong
vslengthy
3 4.2

Longer than needed or wanted

highlights unwanted long duration rather than simple length

Antonyms

587 2.0

Using few words or lasting only a short time

37 4.2

Using few words to give important information clearly

Compounds

lengthy screed
  • Literature
8.3

A long angry piece of writing or speech that strongly criticizes something

How Long

endless
350 2.5
lengthy
109 3.5
short
1.0

Surface Forms

lengthy positive
lengthier comparative
lengthiest superlative

Morphology

lengthy = length (transparent) = length + y

The adjective is directly formed from the noun 'length' with the productive adjectival suffix '-y', yielding the meaning 'long' or 'of considerable length'.

Etymology

Lengthy is made from the word length plus the ending -y, and length comes from an old word meaning 'long', the same idea as the common word long. So lengthy describes something that takes a 'long' time or is longer than needed.