cling

cling to

verb

Definition of CLING

1

to give steadfast support to <continued to cling to the old ideas of child rearing long after they had gone out of fashion>

Synonyms cling (to), hew (to), keep (to), stand by, stick (to or with)

Related Words cleave (to); advocate, back, champion, confirm, defend, endorse (also indorse), espouse, support, uphold; accept, adopt, cherish, cultivate, embrace, follow, foster, heed; backstop, bolster, boost, buttress, enforce, reinforce (also reenforce)

Near Antonyms abandon, abnegate, desert, forsake, give up, relinquish, spurn, surrender; abjure, recall, recant, reconsider, renege, renounce, retract, revoke, take back, unsay, withdraw; controvert, disagree (with), disprove, dispute, rebut, refute; contradict, deny, disavow, disclaim, disown, gainsay, negate, negative, repudiate; back down, back off, backtrack

Antonyms defect (from)

2

to have or keep in one's hands <clung to a pole in the subway car to keep from falling as it lurched along>

Synonyms clench, cling (to), clutch, grip

Related Words bear, carry; bag, capture, catch, collar, corral, grab, grapple, hook, land, latch (on or onto), nab, nail, seize, snap (up), snare, snatch, take, trap; feel, finger, handle, paw; clasp, embrace, grasp, hug; cradle

Near Antonyms drop, give, hand, unclasp, unhand; cede, deliver, give up, hand out, hand over, release, relinquish, render, turn over, yield