protract
to lengthen or draw out
Roots
- pro-: forward, forth, outward, or in favor of
- tract / trah: draw, pull, handle, or manage
Other words with the tract / trah root
Tract gives drawing or pulling. To protract is to draw something out longer than it needs to last.
The argument protracted a meeting that should have ended quickly.
Protract is length made annoying. A discussion, conflict, lawsuit, or illness gets drawn out past the point where everyone hoped it would end.
Picture a line being pulled longer and longer. The thing is not merely long; it is being extended.