as in grips
the act or manner of holding
fearful that his suitcase might be stolen, he never once relaxed his clench on the handle
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in clutches
to have or keep in one's hands
clenched a tissue in his hands as he told his story of misfortune
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of clenches
Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2025
Verb
As Solène leaves, Rainbeau clenches her fists, talking herself out of hitting Solène and remembering the way disputes got resolved in her family.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clenches
Noun
-
One clammy hand grips the wheel.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Sooner or later, the two sides will have to come to grips with the enrichment issue.—
Robert J. Einhorn,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The older woman clutches her top towel closer to her.—
Weike Wang,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The Hurricanes needed that to happen after the game nearly slipped out of their grasps.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
1 Sep. 2025
-
Halakhic rulings on divorce, medical emergencies, or conversion involve nuance that no present-day model grasps.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Google could keep its business at the other side of the programmatic industry, publisher ad servers that alert advertisers of space available on sites–where Google holds about 90% of that market.—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Alcaraz now holds a 10-5 career advantage on Sinner, including 4-2 in majors and 7-2 on hardcourts.—
Adam Zagoria,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Its small gold details include a metal pinmount logo, clasps, and a magnetic snap closure inside to keep your items secure.—
Caley Sturgill,
Southern Living,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
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As fans scramble to catch the ball, footage shows, the ball appears to land one row in front of a woman while a man runs over and grabs it.—
Chandelis Duster,
NPR,
7 Sep. 2025
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With City’s left-back, Matheus Nunes, moving out of position to press Mainoo, Ugarte’s involvement grabs the attention of Ilkay Gundogan and Josko Gvardiol.—
Ahmed Walid,
New York Times,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clenches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clenches. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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