clinging (to)

verb

present participle of cling (to)
1
as in keeping (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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in clenching
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 clinging (to)
  1. standing by
  2. clenching
  3. defending
  4. clutching
  5. gripping
  6. holding
  7. grabbing
Verb
  • On social media, months of public posts by Richardson showed that Rudder had been standing by as Richardson coached his teams, sometimes literally.
    — Molly Hensley-Clancy, ProPublica, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Hialeah Gardens police officers raced to the burglary 911 calls and found the two men standing by a pickup truck in the area of 8800 Northwest 116th Terrace.
    — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of standing by
Verb
  • 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
Definition of clenching
Verb
  • The new Indiana quarterback was a three-year starter at TCU and now takes over the defending champs.
    — Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Clark, a second-round draft pick by the defending Super Bowl champions, was injured on Seattle’s first defensive snap in a 19-16 loss to the Tennessee Titans in Nashville.
    — Jim Barnes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of defending
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
  • Brown’s ability to hammer Husted on this issue is alarming Republican operatives, who see a Husted victory as crucial to holding a majority in the Senate.
    — Dan Kaufman, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The Ross Fire burning west of Fort Worth in Palo Pinto County appears to be holding steady at around 85,000 acres and 26% containment Friday, according to Texas A&M Forest Service officials.
    — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of holding
Verb
  • Two men bought tickets to enter Vienna's Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) before smashing a display case, grabbing a 200-carat platinum and diamond necklace and walking away, police said Friday.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • In the commercial, Good Good co-founder Garrett Clark rushes over to his golf bag and pushes over golfer Alexis Miestowski to keep her from grabbing the Quantum Driver.
    — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of grabbing
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.

Browse Nearby Words

clinging
clinging (to)
clings
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Cite this Entry

“Clinging (to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clinging%20%28to%29. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

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