clenching

verb

present participle of clench
as in clutching
to have or keep in one's hands clenched a tissue in his hands as he told his story of misfortune

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 clenching Years ago, after Jake died, my instinct as a medical student was anger — clenching my teeth and jabbing a pen into my notepad, making a line of inky holes along the margin. — Caroline Cherston, STAT, 25 Aug. 2026 Janet held the phone away from her ear, clenching her teeth against Maggie’s booming voice. — Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 23 July 2026 His workouts, jaw-clenching pull-ups and all, regularly appear on social media. — Missy Ryan, The Atlantic, 22 July 2026 While not everyone experiences such dramatic effects, experts say stress, clenching and even past trauma can contribute to TMJ issues. — Nicole Bennett, AJC.com, 22 May 2026 The Beloved, his first film in Competition at Cannes, is an incredible achievement that builds on all those films and leaves them standing in the dust, hitting all the same tense throat-clenching beats but somehow transcending genre altogether. — Damon Wise, Deadline, 16 May 2026 In the premiere, Rue and Faye run drugs across the border, clenching their butts to hold bags of fentanyl in their digestive tract for as long as possible. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 13 Apr. 2026 Protect against teeth grinding, clenching and enamel damage with custom dental solutions from ClearClub. — Tory Johnson, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2026 Melvin Council stood amid a crowd of his Kansas teammates, clenching a black belt in his fist. — Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 25 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clenching
  1. clutching
  2. gripping
  3. holding
  4. grabbing
Verb
  • Garcia lends the whole song theater-kid interpretation, essentially acting out the lyrics in pantomime, grasping out in front of her, clutching her face.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Austin appeared to be clutching at his right knee while on the ground, clearly in a lot of pain.
    — Dan Duggan, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of clutching
Verb
  • Fundamentals like gripping the football properly to prevent fumbles, or tackling and lowering your hips to wrap up and drive a player rather than using shoulder pads or lowering the head, which put players at risk for neck and head injuries.
    — Ethan Hanson, Daily News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The conflict is still gripping the region and no resolution is in sight.
    — Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of gripping
Verb
  • This finding, the authors said, suggested soft tissue was still holding the skeleton in place.
    — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The Austrian has played an active role in recruitment, holding near-daily conversations with George Syrianos, the club’s influential chief football officer.
    — Paul Taylor, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of holding
Verb
  • One of the more memorable instances finds Cole grabbing an open padlock off a door and using it to belt an opponent across the face before hooking the shackle into the dude’s mouth and using it to rip open his cheek.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026
  • But everything points to his being ready for Week 1, and Jones already didn’t run as much between the 10s last year, so a free ticket on a potential fringe-QB1 is worth grabbing.
    — Jake Ciely, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of grabbing

Browse Nearby Words

clenches
clenching
clepe
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Cite this Entry

“Clenching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clenching. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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