Meaning & use
drawl
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To speak in a slow, lazy way, stretching out the vowel sounds.
Grammar: Without an object it means to speak slowly; with an object it introduces what is said: he drawled a reply.
Patterns
- drawl something
- drawl out something
"Well, I suppose so," he drawled, leaning back in his chair.
She drawled her words when she was tired.
The cowboy drawled a greeting and tipped his hat.
nounusually singular
A slow way of speaking in which the vowel sounds are drawn out, often linked to a regional accent.
Grammar: Usually singular: a Texas drawl, a slow drawl.
Patterns
- speak with a drawl
- a drawl in someone's voice
He spoke with a slow Southern drawl.
The actor lost his drawl after moving to London.
Her lazy drawl made everything sound relaxed.
Word forms
| third person singular | drawls |
|---|---|
| past tense | drawled |
| past participle | drawled |
| -ing form | drawling |
Common combinations
- Southern drawl
- His Southern drawl made the story sound slower and warmer.
- lazy drawl
- She answered in a lazy drawl.
- drawl out
- He drawled out the last word for effect.
- slow drawl
- A slow drawl came from the back of the room.
- drawl a reply
- He drawled a reply without looking up.
Synonyms and how they differ
- drone
- Drone suggests a dull, monotonous voice that bores people, while drawl is slow but not necessarily boring.
- mumble
- Mumble means speaking unclearly and quietly, whereas a drawl can be quite clear but slow.
- dawdle
- Dawdle means moving slowly, and does not refer to speech.
- slur
- Slur means running words together, often through tiredness or drink, but a drawl stretches vowels deliberately or naturally.
Opposites
Word family
- drawling adjective
- speaking in a slow, stretched way
- drawler noun
- a person who speaks with a drawl
- drawlingly adverb
- in a slow, drawn-out manner
Commonly confused: drawl or draw?
drawl vs draw
Draw means to make a picture or pull something, and the extra l in drawl gives it the meaning of slow speech.
Practice
Which sentence uses drawl correctly?
Choose one answer.
Drawl means to speak slowly with stretched vowels. The other sentences confuse it with draw or with movement.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “drawl”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.