drawn

drawn — verb

1. the past participle form of the verb 'draw' — used with auxiliary verbs such as

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveA2
Definition

the past participle form of the verb 'draw' — used with auxiliary verbs such as 'have', 'has', 'had', 'was', or 'were' to show that an action happened earlier or to form passive sentences

Example

Mira has drawn a lovely sketch of her grandmother's garden.

present perfect: has + drawn

Each evening the stage curtains were drawn shut by workers to hide set changes from the audience.

passive: were + drawn

Grammar Patterns

have/has/had + drawn

be + drawn (passive)

Usage Note

As a past participle, 'drawn' cannot stand alone as a main verb — it always needs a helping verb such as 'have', 'has', 'had', 'was', 'were', or 'been'.

Common Mistakes

She drawn a beautiful picture.
She drew a beautiful picture.' or 'She has drawn a beautiful picture.
'drawn' needs a helping verb; use 'drew' for simple past.

drawn — adjective

Word family

  • draw
    verbA2
  • draw
    nounB2
  • drawing
    nounA2
  • drawer
    nounB1
  • drawn-out
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe someone whose face shows the effects of hardship, but they emphasize different aspects. 'Drawn' focuses on tight, strained features — as if the face has been pulled by exhaustion or worry. 'Haggard' is the strongest, suggesting a wild, disordered look from extreme fatigue or trauma — a haggard prisoner after weeks of interrogation. 'Gaunt' emphasizes unnatural thinness, with bones visible through the skin — often from hunger or serious illness rather than just tiredness. 'Wan' adds paleness to the picture; a wan person looks sickly and weak, lacking color. 'Pinched' suggests tightness around the nose and mouth, as if from cold or pain. Use 'drawn' for tiredness from overwork, 'gaunt' for thinness from illness, 'wan' for pallor, and 'haggard' when all three combine in an extreme state.

haggardgauntwanpinched

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • tightly drawn
  • finely drawn

Phrases

  • drawn from life
  • drawn by hand

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Drawn comes from Old English 'dragan' (to pull, drag). It is the strong past participle form of 'draw', which kept the '-en' ending that was common in Old English strong verbs. The adjective sense — describing a face that looks strained or pulled tight by exhaustion — appeared in English around the 15th century, based on the visual image of features being 'drawn' or pulled out of shape by suffering.