From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlong-drawn-outˌlong-drawn-ˈout (also long-drawn) adjective [only before noun] LONG TIMEcontinuing for a longer time than is wanted or necessary SYN protracted The official enquiry was a long-drawn-out process.► see thesaurus at long
Examples from the Corpus
long-drawn-out• This war is too one-sided to be very long-drawn-out.• The moment seemed to go on for ever, impossibly long-drawn-out.• Netscape faces a long-drawn-out battle with software giant Microsoft.• Mae was refused a visa and what looked like a short hiccup developed into a long-drawn-out campaign.• The long-drawn-out campaigns that precede every election in the US have already begun.• a long-drawn-out court battle• This long-drawn-out effort finally succeeded in 1920, and Ida Smedley was the first woman to be formally accepted into the Society.• Whatever musings had abstracted me from the charms of the city fled before the lucidity of that long-drawn-out instant of disaster.• Avoiding long-drawn-out negotiations and yet ensuring that everyone is in the know is part of the task of governors.• It made a long-drawn-out noise which sounded like a high-pitched foghorn and backed away, raising its hands to its mouth.• The battle proved to be one of the most long-drawn-out takeovers ever, involving many twists and changes of fortune. 