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longueur

/lɔŋˈgʌr/
IPA guide

Other forms: longueurs

A longueur is a section of a book or movie or play that's really tedious or boring. You might love the movie "West Side Story," except for the longueur of the dream sequence that features a ballet dance.

You'll often come across this word in its plural form, longueurs, as when a book reviewer notes the longueurs of a writer's descriptions of the English countryside, or your aunt starts to snore during the longueurs of a play's third act. You can use this noun for any dull spell, but it's mostly a literary or performing arts term, from the French longueur, "length," and the Latin root longus, "long."

Definitions of longueur
  1. noun
    a period of dullness or boredom (especially in a work of literature or performing art)
    see moresee less
    type of:
    continuance, duration
    the period of time during which something continues
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