lengthen

English

Etymology

From length +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɛŋ(k)θən/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛŋkθən

Verb

lengthen (third-person singular simple present lengthens, present participle lengthening, simple past and past participle lengthened)

1. (transitive) To make longer, to extend the length of.

   You need to lengthen the story if you want to have it published.

   • 1950 September, “Central London Railway Jubilee”, in Railway Magazine, page 622:

     The platforms of all stations from Shepherds Bush to Liverpool Street have been lengthened from 325 ft. to 427 ft. between tunnel headwalls, to take longer trains.

2. (intransitive) To become longer.

   The shadows on the lawn lengthened as the sun began to set.

Antonyms

• shorten

Derived terms

• compensatorily lengthen
• lengthener

 

Translations

to make longer

• Arabic: طَوَّلَ (ṭawwala), أَطَالَ (ʔaṭāla)
• Armenian: երկարացնել (hy) (erkaracʻnel)
• Aromanian: lundzescu
• Assamese: দীঘলা (dighola), দীঘল কৰ (dighol kor)
• Breton: hiraat (br)
• Bulgarian: удължавам (bg) (udǎlžavam)
• Catalan: allargar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 加長／加长 (zh) (jiācháng)

• Czech: prodloužit (cs)
• Finnish: pidentää (fi)
• French: rallonger (fr)
• Georgian: დაგრძელება (dagrʒeleba), დაჭიმვა (dač̣imva)
• German: verlängern (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: μακρύνω (makrúnō), μηκύνω (mēkúnō)

• Ido: longeskar (io)
• Ingrian: pitentää
• Irish: sín
• Italian: allungare (it)
• Japanese: 延ばす (ja) (nobasu), 長くする (ja) (nagaku suru), 延長する (ja) (enchō suru)
• Jarai: pơglông
• Kazakh: ұзару (ūzaru)
• Ladino:

  Roman: alargar

• Macedonian: должи (dolži), продолжува (prodolžuva)
• Maori: whakaroa, katete
• Norman: allouongni (Jersey)
• Polish: przedłużyć (pl) pf, wydłużyć (pl) pf
• Portuguese: alongar (pt), acompridar (pt), encompridar
• Romanian: lungi (ro)
• Russian: удлиня́ть (ru) impf (udlinjátʹ), удлини́ть (ru) pf (udlinítʹ)
• Spanish: alargar (es)
• Swedish: förlänga (sv)
• Telugu: పొడిగించు (te) (poḍigiñcu)

to become longer

• Arabic: طَالَ (ṭāla)
• Assamese: দীঘল হোৱা (dighol hüa)
• Bulgarian: удължавам се (udǎlžavam se)
• Czech: prodloužit se
• Finnish: pidentyä (fi), pidetä (fi)
• Ingrian: pitetä
• Kazakh: ұзару (ūzaru)
• Swedish: förlängas (sv)