as in clutching
to have or keep in one's hands
clenched a tissue in his hands as he told his story of misfortune
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Recent Examples of clenching
Wole faced fixedly forward, both fists clenching the steering wheel.
—
David Wright Faladé, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
David Wright Faladé, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clenching
Verb
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Davis landed awkwardly and began clutching at his lower body.—
Christian Clark,
New York Times,
30 Oct. 2025
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His groin ached as if Sister Wang had been clutching him for years.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Rolling Stone has the exclusive trailer, offering a sneak peek into this gripping tale of a quiet community turned upside down and put under a microscope.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
28 Oct. 2025
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By designing two complementary layers—a tunable optical active layer and a mechanically distinct passive layer—the team created modular actuators capable of diverse motions, from directional movement to secure object gripping.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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So, for me, that was the creation of the Anti-American Speech Committee, which is a government panel essentially designed to prosecute artists for holding views or creating work that resists basically the fascist state that has overtaken the American government.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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Witnesses shared video footage of an agent holding a man down and repeatedly hitting him in the head.—
NPR,
NPR,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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These are especially useful for taking public transport, grabbing a quick coffee, or leaving a small tip at a restaurant.—
Asia London Palomba,
Travel + Leisure,
25 Oct. 2025
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Peterson led the way, scoring 26 points — 24 before halftime — and grabbing four rebounds.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clenching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clenching. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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