1
as in hugging
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 holding
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
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Recent Examples of clasping
The june bug falls to the bottom of the bag but manages to recover from a new round of kicking by clasping to a leaf.
—
María Ospina, The Dial, 31 Mar. 2026
Others showed baby Spero clasping his tiny hand around Graham's finger and slumbering with a smile on his face.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Mar. 2026
Back at the gathering, there were Martha’s groans and Gretchen’s anger, and there was Mike, clasping his chest—a heart attack?
—Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026
Olympic nails have been seen clasping medals on more than one occasion.
—Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 20 Feb. 2026
Then the beetle seeks out an ant — climbing on top of it, clasping its antennae in its jaws and scooping up its pheromones with brush-like legs.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
To keep the jewelry clean, Glasser covered them in bubblegum wrappers, removing them before clasping the dress in place.
—Sophia Panych, Allure, 3 Feb. 2026
Grejo snapped his fingers for the cigarettes to be passed and lit one, but after a single long drag, Adi noticed, never smoked it again, instead clasping it between his fingers like a personal incense stick.
—Jonathan Miles, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
After the speakers concluded, the crowd lingered, hugging and clasping hands before police announced the parking lot would be closed.
—Uwa Ede-Osifo, Dallas Morning News, 11 Jan. 2026
María Ospina, The Dial, 31 Mar. 2026
Others showed baby Spero clasping his tiny hand around Graham's finger and slumbering with a smile on his face.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Mar. 2026
Back at the gathering, there were Martha’s groans and Gretchen’s anger, and there was Mike, clasping his chest—a heart attack?
—Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026
Olympic nails have been seen clasping medals on more than one occasion.
—Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 20 Feb. 2026
Then the beetle seeks out an ant — climbing on top of it, clasping its antennae in its jaws and scooping up its pheromones with brush-like legs.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
To keep the jewelry clean, Glasser covered them in bubblegum wrappers, removing them before clasping the dress in place.
—Sophia Panych, Allure, 3 Feb. 2026
Grejo snapped his fingers for the cigarettes to be passed and lit one, but after a single long drag, Adi noticed, never smoked it again, instead clasping it between his fingers like a personal incense stick.
—Jonathan Miles, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
After the speakers concluded, the crowd lingered, hugging and clasping hands before police announced the parking lot would be closed.
—Uwa Ede-Osifo, Dallas Morning News, 11 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clasping
Verb
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This past month, Vrabel and the former The Athletic reporter were seen holding hands and hugging at the luxury resort in Arizona.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2026
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The images showed Vrabel and Russini, 43, hugging and holding hands at a luxury hotel in Arizona.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
PEOPLE,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Three San Diego police officers who fatally shot a man holding what appeared to be a real gun during a 2022 standoff have been cleared of any criminal liability, the California Department of Justice said Friday, but state investigators recommended a few policy changes for the department.—
Teri Figueroa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Apr. 2026
-
The truce appeared to be largely holding overnight.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Others have bounced between depression protocols, strict planners or generic life-coaching without ever grasping why the puzzle pieces refuse to connect.—
Lucy Jones
April 11,
Miami Herald,
11 Apr. 2026
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Faster grasping smarter robots The team tested HEAPGrasp on a real robotic setup across 20 scenarios involving different combinations of transparent, opaque, and reflective objects.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Magic weren’t supposed to be here, clinging to survival in the play-in tournament.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
16 Apr. 2026
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On the walk back to the inn, Henry veered off the trail to pick up a fallen branch, gray and forked with one crisp leaf clinging obstinately on.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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On a bright afternoon along Biscayne Boulevard, a Route 3 bus pulls up already packed, bodies pressed against windows, riders gripping overhead bars just to stay upright.—
Yaelis Pena,
Miami Herald,
21 Apr. 2026
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In both scenarios, the astronauts performed repetitive movements while gripping an object, which were later studied by the team (back on Earth).—
Chelsea Gohd,
Space.com,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Other officers in the area saw the two men in a struggle and assisted in taking Mullins into custody, according to police.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
22 Apr. 2026
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Let’s imagine—in a case of truly terrible architectural planning—that there is only one extremely slow elevator, stopping at each floor and taking one minute per floor.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clasping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clasping. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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