DRAWL

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DRAWL. A non-technical term (verb and noun) for SPEECH in which words are drawn out, especially prolonging vowels and final syllables. The term is often pejorative, suggesting that a speaker is affected or lazy: ‘I never heard such a drawling-affecting rogue’ (Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, 2. 1, 1598). Some accents are regarded as marked by drawling: a southern drawl (in the US). See ACCENT, STYLE.

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