1
as in to keep (to)
to give steadfast support to
continued to cling to the old ideas of child rearing long after they had gone out of fashion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to grip
to have or keep in one's hands
clung to a pole in the subway car to keep from falling as it lurched along
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cling (to)
Verb
-
International headlines often paint Haiti as a nation gripped by crisis — from political unrest and economic hardship to uncertainty about the future and unruly crime.—
Footwear News,
Footwear News,
12 Sep. 2025 -
However, with vaccination rates slipping and anti-vaccine misinformation and views gripping the country, health experts fear seeing more of these devastating cases.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
According to The Cut, Tami also impersonated Kendra for her last Halloween party, dressing as a scarecrow in a prison jumpsuit paired with a mask of her mugshot and phones clutched in its hands.—
Jordana Comiter,
People.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Zarutska clutched her throat and collapsed.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
And then there’s Eros, also known as Cupid, who flies away with his little buttocks clenched at the least hint of a rational process.—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Yang Guoliang said, his hands clenched in fists.—
Sheryl Estrada,
Fortune,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
But the way Herbert flashed early in his career, tossing seven touchdown passes and only one interception in a 2021 season sweep of the defending AFC champion Chiefs, had come to feel like a tease.—
Mike Sando,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Responding to Joe Starnes, a Democratic congressman from Alabama, Flanagan proved to be a tough witness and defended the project as being a cure for American inactivity.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Republicans hold a strong majority in both chambers of the General Assembly, holding 29 out of 35 seats in the Senate and 81 of 100 seats in the House.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Ellison held second place prior to earnings release Ellison’s rise comes a day after Forbes released its list of the world’s richest people.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Video surveillance from the scene posted online by Fox 11 shows a man lingering near a doorway, quickly grabbing the gift box from a table and running out of the venue.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
9 Sep. 2025
-
The owner wanted to keep the grab-and-go options previously offered in the space.—
La Risa R. Lynch,
jsonline.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The video opens with one of the friends standing by the bed.—
Soo Kim,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Emily Shah joins the cast as Sonia Bothra, playing the physician’s daughter who stood by him during the legal battle.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
10 Sep. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Cling (to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cling%20%28to%29. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share