ENGLISH
REFERENCE

lengthy

adj.
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˈɫɛŋθi// UK //lˈɛŋθi// lengthy

adj. lasting a long time, often longer than you expected or wanted. It is usually used to describe things like meetings, books, or processes.

adj. extending to a considerable or unusual distance or duration. Often carries a connotation of tediousness or excessive detail.


SIMPLE

The meeting was very lengthy and everyone felt tired.

CONTEXTUAL

After a lengthy discussion about the budget, the committee finally agreed on a new plan.

COMPLEX

The legal team warned that a lengthy investigation would be necessary to uncover the full extent of the financial discrepancies within the firm.

Synonyms
Origin

From length + -y.

Usage

Typically used to modify nouns related to time, speech, or written documents.

Pitfall

a very longly meetinga very lengthy meetingLearners sometimes try to turn the adjective 'long' into an adverbial form to describe duration, rather than using the specific adjective 'lengthy'.

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