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
-
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
Verb
-
Morales is seen in surveillance video clutching at Pulido’s sweater a couple of times with Pulido brushing his hand away before Morales returns and the beating and kicking commences.—
City News Service,
Oc Register,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Steinem entered the quietly buzzing room wearing all black and clutching a wooden cane painted with blue and pink birds in her right hand.—
Savannah Walsh,
Vanity Fair,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Another, from 2009, is dominated by the profile of what appears to be a guard dog gripping a black hunk of something unidentifiable.—
Ben Davis,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Meanwhile, Nazem Kadri is passing up shots and sometimes looks uncomfortable gripping his stick right now.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Trump is standing by the leadership of the Secret Service and the president personally thinks agents did an excellent job neutralizing the shooter, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The mom-to-be smiled down at her husband in one photo, and was pictured standing by herself outside in a few others.—
Kayla Grant,
PEOPLE,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Former Canadiens captain Yvan Cournoyer entered the Bell Centre from that plaza holding a torch, walked it into the building and the arena bowl, setting off the Canadiens’ traditional playoff ritual of the ice catching fire, and the building roared.—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
-
The top of his head drilled Bona’s chest, and the Celtics guard crumbled to the court, holding his neck.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Jaguars used their first pick of the NFL draft to land the blocking tight end Friday night, grabbing him in the second round with the 56th selection.—
Mark Long,
The Orlando Sentinel,
25 Apr. 2026
-
The Seahawks stayed put yet again at the end of the second round, grabbing TCU safety Bud Clark with the 64th pick.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Just as significantly, Anunoby spent much of Tuesday night defending Jalen Johnson, the resurgent Hawks’ only All-Star, who finished with a modest 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Then Quentin Davie, the new coach of defending champion Hebron Christian and a close friend, called with an opportunity to join his staff.—
Jack Leo,
AJC.com,
28 Apr. 2026
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
“Clinging (to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clinging%20%28to%29. Accessed 30 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
