cleave to
phrasal verb
cleaved to; cleaved to; cleaving to; cleaves to
formal + literary
1
: to stay very close to (someone)
children cleaving to their families
2
: to stick closely to (something)
—usually used figuratively
He continued to cleave to the beliefs of his childhood.
Examples of cleave to in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Even mentioning Palestine can be a provocation to those who cleave to the myth of Israel as the only possible Jewish sanctuary.
—
Hazlitt, 6 Mar. 2024
Most people are still cleaving to Trump like Tiberian bats in a cave.
—Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2024
And ice came from a 50-pound block, cleaved to order and chipped to size.
—Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 13 Jan. 2024
Instead of cleaving to ideology and anticolonial solidarity, these countries have embraced a certain postcolonial realism and a desire to adapt to unfolding geopolitical realities.
—Happymon Jacob, Foreign Affairs, 25 Dec. 2023
This was never discussed; all that was communicated was a hatred of Germans and a desperate cleaving to tradition.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2023
That makes the film a droll, distancing experience that can come off as faintly condescending in its view of the religious impulse as inherently petty and hypocritical, the last refuge of small-minded folk who cleave to the symbols and rituals of faith but reject their actual meaning.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 8 July 2023
Fitch Ratings says the country’s AAA rating remains in jeopardy because of the prospects for even more dysfunction in Washington, if lawmakers cleave to the kind of brinksmanship that nearly left the US Treasury depleted of cash.
—Nate Dicamillo, Quartz, 2 June 2023
Hazlitt, 6 Mar. 2024
Most people are still cleaving to Trump like Tiberian bats in a cave.
—Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2024
And ice came from a 50-pound block, cleaved to order and chipped to size.
—Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 13 Jan. 2024
Instead of cleaving to ideology and anticolonial solidarity, these countries have embraced a certain postcolonial realism and a desire to adapt to unfolding geopolitical realities.
—Happymon Jacob, Foreign Affairs, 25 Dec. 2023
This was never discussed; all that was communicated was a hatred of Germans and a desperate cleaving to tradition.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2023
That makes the film a droll, distancing experience that can come off as faintly condescending in its view of the religious impulse as inherently petty and hypocritical, the last refuge of small-minded folk who cleave to the symbols and rituals of faith but reject their actual meaning.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 8 July 2023
Fitch Ratings says the country’s AAA rating remains in jeopardy because of the prospects for even more dysfunction in Washington, if lawmakers cleave to the kind of brinksmanship that nearly left the US Treasury depleted of cash.
—Nate Dicamillo, Quartz, 2 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cleave to.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near cleave to
Cite this Entry
“Cleave to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cleave%20to. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
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