elongate
Syllables: elong·ate/ɪˈlɒŋ.ɡeɪt/US/əˈlɔŋˌɡeɪt/
elongate adjective: elongated, extended, lengthened; (especially biology) having a long and slender form.
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Adjective
elongate (comparative more elongate, superlative most elongate)
- Elongated, extended, lengthened; (especially biology) having a long and slender form.
- Painted turtles lay oval, elongate eggs.
- He stood in the shadow of the pagoda, achieving a kinship between the building and himself by his elongate elegance, an air of old, uninsisting nobility.1958, Han Suyin [pseudonym; Rosalie Matilda Kuanghu Chou], chapter 11, in The Mountain is Young, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, →OCLC, part 3 (Way Up), page 341
Verb
elongate (third-person singular simple present elongates, present participle elongating, simple past and past participle elongated)
- To make (something) long or longer, for example, by pulling or stretching; to make (something) elongated; to extend, to lengthen.
- VVhen the muſcles of the heart cease to act, the refluent blood again diſtends or elongates them; and thus irritated they contract as before.1796, Erasmus Darwin, “Sect[ion] XIV. Of the Production of Ideas. VII. Of the Sense of Extension.”, in Zoonomia; or, The Laws of Organic Life, volume II, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC...
- A vvriter may tell me that he thinks man vvill ultimately become an oſtrich. I cannot properly contradict him. But before he can expect to bring any reaſonable perſon over to his opinion, he ought to ſhevv, that the necks of mankind have been gradually elongating; […] and that the hair is beginning...1798, [Thomas Robert Malthus], chapter I, in An Essay on the Principle of Population, as It Affects the Future Improvement of Society. […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 10
- Followed by from: to move to or place (something) at a distance from another thing; to remove.
- [L]et the cõmon house of easement [i.e., the outhouse] be ouer some water, or els elongated from the house.[1547], Andrewe Boorde [i.e., Andrew Boorde], “The Thyrde Chapyter doth Shewe a Man to Buylde His House in a Pure and a Fresshe Ayre to Lengthen His Lyfe”, in A Compendyous Regyment or a Dyetary of...
- But to open this more particularly, let us ſhevv in hovv many particulars they [wicked men] are thus elongated, or made afar off from God.1652, Anthony Burgess [i.e., Anthony Burges], “Sermon CXIX. Sheweth in How Many Respects Wicked Men (before Their Effectual Calling) are Afar off from God, and Consequently Miserable”, in Spiritual...
- To become long or longer, for example, by being pulled or stretched; to become elongated.
- Here, Mr. Lorry perceived the reflexion on the wall to elongate, and Mr. Cruncher rose and stepped forward.1859, Charles Dickens, “A Hand at Cards”, in A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book III (The Track of a Storm), page 204
- They studied fiercely as Bilging Day drew nearer. […] His face elongated daily, and his melancholy eyes burned in deepening sockets like dim candles, but he never failed a quiz.1951, Herman Wouk, chapter 3, in The Caine Mutiny, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, →OCLC, part 1, page 27
- Of a plant part: to grow long; also, to have a long and slender or tapering form.
- Shepherd’s-purse Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik. […] FLOWERS White, blooming March–December; inflorescence of racemes, elongating greatly with fruit; […]2009, Tom Reaume, “Mustard—Brassicaceae”, in 620 Wild Plants of North America—Fully Illustrated (Canadian Plains Studies; 57), Winnipeg, Man.: Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina...
- Followed by from: to be at a distance, or move away, from a thing; to depart; (specifically, astronomy) of a planet, star, or other astronomical object: to appear to recede from the sun or a fixed point in the celestial sphere.
- [A]bout Capo Frio in Brasilia, the south point [of the compass] varieth tvvelve degrees unto the VVeſt, and about the mouth of the Straites of Magellan five or ſix; but elongating from the coaſt of Braſilia tovvard the ſhore of Africa it varyeth Eaſtvvard, and arriving at Capo de las Agullas, it...1646, Thomas Browne, “Concerning the Loadstone”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], London: […] T[homas] H[arper] for Edward Dod, […], →OCLC, 2nd book, page 63
elongate meaning in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Malay
elongate in Tamil
- நீளமாக்கு, நீட்டி, நீளமாகு, நீடி, நெடுகு
elongate in Malayalam
- lengthen, extend, stretch (out)
- നീട്ടുക, ദീർഘിപ്പിക്കുക, ദീർഘമാക്കുക, വിസ്തൃതമാക്കുക, വികസിപ്പിക്കുക, വലിച്ചുനീട്ടുക
- protract, prolong, draw out
- നീട്ടുക, വലിച്ചുനീട്ടുക, ദീർഘീകരിക്ക, വിസ്തരിക്കുക, നീണ്ടുനിൽക്കുക
elongate in Kannada
- ಉದ್ದಮಾಡು
elongate in Malay
- to make (something) long or longer
- memanjang, memperpanjang
Examples of elongate in a sentence
- He tilted the glass slightly now, the surface of the liquid assuming an elongate outline.1976, Don DeLillo, chapter 3, in Ratner’s Star (A Borzoi Book), New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →ISBN, page 46:
- ["]I wanted to give you a delightful sap—pur—ize!" Having thus elongated and emphasized the word Surprise, Mr.1864 May – 1865 November, Charles Dickens, “The Friendly Move Takes Up a Strong Position”, in Our Mutual Friend. […], volume II, London...
- Proceed advanceward for time elongateth itself as many dull Chapel speeches.1904, Prophet [pseudonym], “Junior Class Prophecy”, in Murmurmontis, volume I, [Buckhannon, W. Va.]: [Hausauer, Son & Jones for] the ’04...
- The principal force and property of hatred then, is to divide, ſeparate, alienate, and elongate a man from vvhat he hates.1667, George Sikes, “Concerning Hatred”, in The Book of Nature Translated and Epitomiz’d, London: [s.n.], →OCLC, section II (The Nature...
Synonyms of elongate
Antonyms
8 more antonymsFewer antonyms
Forms of elongate
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more elongate |
| superlative | most elongate |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | elongates |
| present participle | elongating |
| past participle | elongated |
| past | elongated |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | elongatest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | elongatedst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | elongateth |
Origin of elongate
From Late Middle English elongat, elongate (“kept away; different or remote in nature”, adjective), borrowed from Late Latin ēlongātus (“having been stretched out, elongated; prolonged, protracted; having been kept aloof, removed”) + Middle English -at (suffix forming participles). Ēlongātus is the perfect passive participle of ēlongō (“to prolong, protract; to keep aloof, remove; to depart, withdraw”), from Latin ē- (a variant of ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’)) + longus (“extended, long, prolonged; far”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dlongʰos (“long”, adjective)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs). Doublet of eloign. Cognates * French éloigner
Words formed from elongate
- elongate bitterling
- elongate carpet shark
- elongate glassy perchlet
- elongately
- elongate tigerfish
- nonelongate
- subelongate
- elongase
- elongated
- elongating
- nonelongating
- overelongate
Questions about elongate
- What does elongate mean?
- Elongate means elongated, extended, lengthened; (especially biology) having a long and slender form.
- What is elongate in Tamil?
- Elongate in Tamil is நீளமாக்கு, நீட்டி, நீளமாகு. See Elongate meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use elongate in a sentence?
- He tilted the glass slightly now, the surface of the liquid assuming an elongate outline.
- What part of speech is elongate?
- Elongate can be an adjective or a verb.
- How do you pronounce elongate?
- Elongate is pronounced /ɪˈlɒŋ.ɡeɪt/ (UK).
Words near elongate in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: elongate (page history and authors); elongate (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); elongate (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); elongate (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-elongate.wav.
Cite this entry: “elongate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/elongate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.