Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Haggard, as from fatigue or ill health.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Undecided, from the fact, that neither contestant has the advantage.
  • Eviscerated; disemboweled: as, a drawn fowl.
  • Melted: as, drawn butter.
  • In needlework, gathered or shirred; puckered by threads drawn through the material.
  • Freed from all particles of iron and steel by means of magnets: said of brass filings.
  • Having the sword drawn.
  • Abnormally tall and slender because of too much crowding and too little sunlight and air: said of a plant, particularly a seedling. Badly drawn plants are of little value.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • past participle See draw, v. t. & i.
  • past participle butter melter and prepared to be used as a sort of gravy.
  • past participle an eviscerated fowl.
  • past participle one in which neither party wins; one equally contested.
  • past participle one driven from cover.
  • past participle ornamental work made by drawing out threads from fine cloth, and uniting the cross threads, to form a pattern.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb Past participle of draw

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
  • adjective having the curtains or draperies closed or pulled shut

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The only difference between true tapestry and drawn work, an example of which is here given, is, that the one is done on a warp that has not before been woven upon, and the other on a warp from which the weft threads have been _drawn_.

    Art in Needlework A Book about Embroidery Mary Buckle 1877

  • It is a word drawn from the old French fur trade for engagés who served their time and went free.

    Champlain's Dream David Hackett Fischer 2008

  • It is a word drawn from the old French fur trade for engagés who served their time and went free.

    Champlain's Dream David Hackett Fischer 2008

  • We should not be ethnocentric, a term drawn from anthropology, which tells us more about the meaning of openness.

    THE CLOSING OF THE AMERICAN MIND Allan Bloom 2003

  • We should not be ethnocentric, a term drawn from anthropology, which tells us more about the meaning of openness.

    THE CLOSING OF THE AMERICAN MIND Allan Bloom 2003

  • Mr. Feldman acknowledges these differences — starting with his title drawn from a Frankfurter law clerk 's characterization of the Supreme Court as "nine scorpions in a bottle" — but tries to celebrate all four "great justices" equally, as if their negative estimations of each other were mere personal foibles.

    The New Dealers Jeremy Rabkin 2010

  • The Japanese call it nemawashi nimah-wash-ee, a word drawn from the practice of bonzai, and which means “preparing to plant.”

    The Elegant Solution Matthew E. May 2007

  • Competitors include LHPH, a name drawn from the industry term Lease Here Pay Here.

    The Seattle Times 2012

  • After Vincente and the tech had left, Chase entered, his expression drawn, his ink-black hair still wet from a recent shower.

    Dreams of a Dark Warrior Kresley Cole 2011

  • After Vincente and the tech had left, Chase entered, his expression drawn, his ink-black hair still wet from a recent shower.

    Dreams of a Dark Warrior Kresley Cole 2011

Comments

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  • "Abnormally tall and slender because of too much crowding and too little sunlight and air: said of a plant, particularly a seedling. Badly drawn plants are of little value."

    --Cent. Dict.

    November 20, 2012