Meaning & use
drawn
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Looking thin, tired or tense in the face, usually because of worry, pain or lack of sleep.
Grammar: Used after a linking verb or before a noun: her face looked drawn, a drawn face.
Patterns
- look drawn
After three nights at the hospital, her face looked drawn.
He appeared pale and drawn at the press conference.
The nurse noticed the patient's drawn features.
adjectivebefore a nounBritishsport
Of a match, finishing with equal scores so that neither side wins.
Grammar: Mostly used before a noun in British English: a drawn game.
The drawn match left both teams level on points.
It was a drawn game, with a goal at each end.
adjectivebefore a noun
Pulled across or closed, as of curtains or blinds.
Grammar: Often found with curtains: drawn curtains.
The drawn curtains kept the room dark all afternoon.
They sat behind drawn blinds and waited.
Common combinations
- look drawn
- You look drawn; have you been sleeping?
- pale and drawn
- He returned from the trip pale and drawn.
- drawn face
- Her drawn face told the whole story.
- drawn game
- The chess club ended with a drawn game.
- drawn curtains
- Behind the drawn curtains, the house felt asleep.
Synonyms and how they differ
- haggard
- Haggard is stronger and suggests exhaustion or suffering written deeply on the face.
- gaunt
- Gaunt stresses extreme thinness, often from hunger or illness, rather than temporary tiredness.
- tired
- Tired is a general word and does not point to the face or tension.
- pinched
- Pinched suggests a thin, tight look from cold, hunger or worry.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: drawn or drawn (past participle)? drawn or drowned?
drawn vs drawn (past participle)
Drawn is also the participle of draw, as in 'she has drawn a picture'. The adjective meaning tired is a separate use.
drawn vs drowned
Drowned means died in water and sounds nothing like drawn.
Practice
After weeks of worry, her face looked pale and ___.
Choose one answer.
Drawn is the adjective for a tired, tense face. 'Drew' is only a past tense, and 'draw' and 'drawing' do not fit after 'looked pale and'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “drawn”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.