prolongs
Makes last longer
Prolongs means extends the duration of something: The medication prolongs life but doesn't cure the disease.
What gets prolonged is usually already underway—an illness, a conflict, a conversation.
The word often carries a slight negative connotation, suggesting something is being drawn out beyond its natural or desirable length: Why prolong the agony?
Increases in scope
- lengthensIncreases in extent
- continuesProceeds without stopping
- maintainsKeeps in condition
- perpetuatesCauses to endure indefinitely
preserves · sustains · stretches · protraction · continuation · persistence · endurance · upkeep
Reschedules for later
- defersPostpones or yields
- stallsDelays or compartments
- delaysPauses before proceeding
- suspendsHalts temporarily or hangs
tables · forestalls · hinders · obstructs · impedes · adjournment · moratorium · deferment
extends
Increases in scope
perpetuates · preserves · sustains · stretches · protraction · continuation · persistence · endurance · upkeep · maintenance
postpones
Reschedules for later
suspends · tables · forestalls · hinders · obstructs · impedes · adjournment · moratorium · deferment · reprieve
timespan
Bounded stretch of time
period · interval · stretch · term · lifetime · longevity · lifespan · years · months · weeks
prolongsshortens
Reduces in length
curtails · abbreviates · truncates · cuts short · reduces
- prolonged laborChildbirth exceeding normal duration
- QT prolongationAbnormal heart repolarization delay
- prolonged exposureContinued subjection over time