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 another video published by B’Tselem capturing the moments after the incident, Sam’s father can be seen standing by the car, cradling his baby, whose bright yellow clothing can be seen stained with blood.—
Sarah Dean,
NBC news,
12 June 2026 -
The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline has people standing by 24/7 in English and in Spanish for text or voice calls at 988.—
Beth Ann Mayer,
Parents,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
Seconds later, the same officer — now with his gun holstered — is captured on the camera crouching and clutching his left shoulder in pain.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
11 June 2026
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During Denmark’s game against Ukraine, Eriksen was seen clutching his chest before collapsing to the pitch.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
8 June 2026
Verb
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The Inter Miami captain scored a hat trick for defending World Cup champion Argentina in a 3-0 rout of Algeria in their tournament opener.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
17 June 2026
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But Cape Verde simply did not wilt in a solid, switched-on 4-5-1 defensive shape, compressing space between the lines and defending heroically in their own penalty area to keep the European Champions at bay, and committing only one foul in the process — the fewest ever recorded in a World Cup game.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
Verb
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Once the age checks were done, the opening bars to the FIFA anthem crackled through the stadium speakers, and the players filed onto the field, gripping the hands of the young local players escorting them.—
Ryan Lenora Brown,
NPR,
14 June 2026
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But for those of us following along at home, the terror and curiosity of what might happen made for gripping TV.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
12 June 2026
Verb
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The Cameroon international is worth holding one more week, for Bournemouth at home, having got on the scoresheet last time out.—
Holly Shand,
New York Times,
12 Dec. 2025
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Researchers had believed that the material holding the thorium needed to be transparent so laser light could pass through and excite its nucleus.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Noem has come under fire during her tenure at DHS for her attention-grabbing deportation tactics.—
Greta Bjornson,
PEOPLE,
11 Dec. 2025
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The viewer quickly gets bored before grabbing the remote.—
Hannah Miller,
Fortune,
11 Dec. 2025
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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 17 Jun. 2026.
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