1
as in hugged
to put one's arms around and press tightly
clasped his long-lost sister and cried without restraint
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in held
to reach for and take hold of by embracing with the fingers or arms
clasped a crayon and began drawing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of clasped
Smith sits poised, contemplative, his hands clasped together.
—
Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
The 41-year-old Monterey Park resident clasped a cup of hot chocolate.
—Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2026
In the photo, Ferris excitedly clasped her hands over her face as Powell presented her with a ring in the waterfront proposal.
—Amy McCarthy, PEOPLE, 30 Dec. 2025
The Melania meme showed a closeup of her face with her hands clasped in front, as if in ebullient prayer.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2025
Elderly neighbors clasped hands and whispered prayers of thanks.
—Literary Hub, 13 Nov. 2025
Desler moved to stand beside the Emperor’s throne and stayed there, hands clasped behind her back.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 10 Nov. 2025
Hannah McGuire stepped up to a microphone outside City Hall with hands clasped together in front of her and took a deep breath.
—Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 6 Nov. 2025
Later, the family clasped hands and prayed in a circle.
—Katie Moore, Kansas City Star, 16 Oct. 2025
Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
The 41-year-old Monterey Park resident clasped a cup of hot chocolate.
—Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2026
In the photo, Ferris excitedly clasped her hands over her face as Powell presented her with a ring in the waterfront proposal.
—Amy McCarthy, PEOPLE, 30 Dec. 2025
The Melania meme showed a closeup of her face with her hands clasped in front, as if in ebullient prayer.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2025
Elderly neighbors clasped hands and whispered prayers of thanks.
—Literary Hub, 13 Nov. 2025
Desler moved to stand beside the Emperor’s throne and stayed there, hands clasped behind her back.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 10 Nov. 2025
Hannah McGuire stepped up to a microphone outside City Hall with hands clasped together in front of her and took a deep breath.
—Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 6 Nov. 2025
Later, the family clasped hands and prayed in a circle.
—Katie Moore, Kansas City Star, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clasped
Verb
-
The girls stayed with their grandparents in the smallest of ten bahay kubo, traditional bamboo-stilt homes, that hugged a bend of the San Juan and were overgrown with mango and jam fruit trees.—
Sean Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Parents hugged children and quickly cleared them off the bleachers and onto buses.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The rapper, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, has been held at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center since he was arrested in September 2024.—
Daniel S. Levine,
People.com,
6 Aug. 2025
-
That means every state budget could be held hostage until the whims of a small fraction of legislators is satisfied.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Multiple responders then grasped the canine by the neck and back to lift it onboard, during which the dog could be heard slightly whimpering.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Kirk grasped how the internet has changed America, but his death has demonstrated—and, disturbingly, may have resulted from—the fundamentally anarchic nature of those changes.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
But where Smith believed unrealistically in talismanic lists and self-help books to redirect his life, Capote clung fiercely to his own brilliance and hard work.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
-
The night was warm and muggy over New Castle Air Force Base in Delaware, the kind of heat that clung to the metal skins of the alert fighter jets lined along the runway.—
Danya Gainor,
CNN Money,
28 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Mass anti-government protests triggered by deteriorating economic conditions have gripped the country, presenting the Iranian regime with its biggest challenge in years.—
Hira Humayun,
CNN Money,
12 Jan. 2026
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The detainees held inside one of Venezuela’s notorious prisons had not yet heard the news that had gripped their nation and much of the world for the past week.—
Samantha Schmidt,
Washington Post,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Things got really tight when, 45 seconds later, Jonathan Aspirot took an interference penalty.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
23 Jan. 2026
-
In 1979, the Islamic Republic took control of Iran following the Iranian Revolution.—
Olivia Young,
CBS News,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clasped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clasped. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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