extend

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

Both extend and lengthen (opposed to shorten) connote an increase of length either in space or in time, but extend is also used to connote increase in range (as of kinds, of influence, or of applicability); thus, a road may be extended or lengthened; one may extend or lengthen his stay; the power of a monarch, however, may be extended but not lengthened

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words with extended meanings

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delays lengthened their trip

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Elongate (usually opposed to abbreviate) denotes to increase in spatial length and has wider technical than general use

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fibers elongated by stretching

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Prolong (opposed to cut short, arrest) means to extend in duration beyond usual or normal limits

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prolong one's childhood

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prolong the process of digestion

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exercise prolongs life

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Protract (opposed to curtail) adds to the denotation of prolong the connotations of indefiniteness, needlessness, or boredom

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protracted debate

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an unduly protracted visit

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Analogous words: *increase, enlarge, augment: *expand, amplify, distend, dilate

Antonyms: abridge, shorten

Contrasted words: abbreviate, curtail, retrench (see SHORTEN): *contract, shrink, condense