CLEAVING Synonyms: 14 Similar and Opposite Words

cleaving

verb

present participle of cleave

as in adhering

to hold to something firmly as if by adhesion you should resolutely cleave to the facts in your report

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of cleaving By the time Lincoln was elected president in 1860, slavery was already cleaving the country. — Chris Kenning, USA Today, 2 July 2026 Something like cleaving a payroll system in three has to be done flawlessly, for example, so staff still get paid on time. — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 12 June 2026 Inequality is cleaving the haves and the have-nots. — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 24 May 2026 The shakeup in Kraft Heinz’s senior ranks is an initial step in CEO Steve Cahillane’s ambitious plan to turn around the company, instead of cleaving its top-performing condiments and boxed meals apart from its lower-growth grocery staples. — Kristina Peterson, Bloomberg, 18 Feb. 2026 And of course, from a more skeptical perspective, the whole project could be described as cleaving close to the wisdom of the strippers in Gypsy. — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleaving

Verb

Unlike in Cutud, participants are mostly female faith healers adhering not to vows but to mystic trances and possession.

— H.M.A. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 10 July 2026
Decorating rules can be helpful guidelines, but adhering too strictly to conventional wisdom can seriously cramp your style.

— Kristin Hohenadel, The Spruce, 23 June 2026

Definition of adhering

Verb

The five survivors were found late Saturday afloat, clinging to a fish trap belonging to a local fisherman, Muhammad Arif Anwar, head of the Makassar Search and Rescue Office, said in a statement.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 July 2026
Both pieces have a relaxed, oversized fit that keeps them from clinging in the humidity and can easily be styled with other pieces in your wardrobe.

— Emily Weaver, PEOPLE, 17 July 2026

Definition of clinging

Verb

Two days after the incident, a developer told the Wall Street Journal that the days of high-wire stunts—like pulling out cores and sticking extra floors on the roof—might belong to the past.

— D. T. Max, New Yorker, 11 July 2026
Perrineau is weary, if not quite as wrecked as the car sticking halfway out of the far wall.

— Josh Wigler, HollywoodReporter, 6 July 2026