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
Relevance
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)
Verb
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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 -
Wole faced fixedly forward, both fists clenching the steering wheel.—
David Wright Faladé,
New Yorker,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The sight of 6-foot-10 center Gafford clutching that same right ankle has occurred more times than even Gafford can count in the Mavericks’ first 50 games this season.—
Brad Townsend,
Dallas Morning News,
3 Feb. 2026
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The mother walked out of the courtroom clutching her son and found an advocate with the Immigrant Advocacy Network in the lobby to explain her options.—
Elizabeth Hernandez,
Denver Post,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But Haiti failed to hold general elections on Saturday as envisioned a couple of years ago, with gang violence gripping much of the capital and swaths of land in the country's central region.—
EVENS SANON,
Arkansas Online,
8 Feb. 2026
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Debris and sheet metal panels rained down from a Con Edison facility rooftop Saturday afternoon amid high winds in the current Arctic chill gripping the city, FDNY said.—
Nicholas Williams,
New York Daily News,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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After month of standing by Ruemmler, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon accepted his general counsel’s resignation last week.—
Matt Egan,
CNN Money,
18 Feb. 2026
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The portrait of the Prince and the trafficking victim—his hand on her waist; her heartbreaking smile—with Maxwell, the human factor, standing by, will always be the defining image of the Royal Family’s involvement in the Epstein case.—
Sam Knight,
New Yorker,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shining a light on their decisions.—
Ben Wheeler,
Kansas City Star,
13 Feb. 2026
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FedEx and private equity investor Advent International will both each own 37 percent of shares in the company, with investment firms A&R and PPF holding 16 percent and 10 percent stakes, respectively.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Hearing the faint sirens of the white police officers who have been monitoring the area for no real reason, Kid attempts to blend into the party by grabbing the mic of the bored DJ—played by Parliament-Funkadelic’s George Clinton—to freestyle.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
13 Feb. 2026
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Or, Stein recommends grabbing a bed/mattress vacuum that is made specifically for the mattress.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Olympics soon will be without Sweden’s defending champion men’s team, which was officially eliminated from semifinal contention on Tuesday after a sixth loss in seven matches in round-robin play.—
Steve Douglas,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
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The Riverside native and Santa Monica High graduate went on to win five consecutive fights defending her title and becoming a global superstar along the way.—
Brian Martin,
Oc Register,
17 Feb. 2026
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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 19 Feb. 2026.
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