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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Two years ago, Megan Selser was folding her 7-week-old infant’s clothes, clutching his fuzzy red head to her chest, when her phone rang.—
Jason Mast,
STAT,
26 Feb. 2026
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Hubbard had paint splatter on his jacket and appeared to be clutching something in his pocket that turned out to be a can of spray paint, police said.—
Colleen Cronin,
Boston Herald,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Sand refuses gripping; the one-footed cannot flee over sand, cannot clamp down on sand and retract into their shells, and octopuses know it.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Here’s the latest casualty of the bomb cyclone gripping the Northeast this week.—
Erik Pedersen,
Deadline,
23 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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To cope, Sesko practices box-breathing to calm himself, a technique involving four four-second phases of breathing in, holding your breath before exhaling, and then holding again.—
Ian Irving,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
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Ryan said Thursday that the man had been wearing orange booties issued by the county holding center, rather than proper shoes suitable for winter weather.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Indiana lawmakers are expected to vote on some spotlight-grabbing bills today, including one that would pave the way for the Chicago Bears to move to Hammond, Indiana.—
Kaitlin Lange,
IndyStar,
27 Feb. 2026
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The Smart House Inc dryer vent cleaner is an effective tool for grabbing lint that clogs hoses.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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After sweeping España and taking an emotional victory over defending MLS Cup champion Inter Miami in front of 75,000 fans at the Coliseum, LAFC visits Houston for a league match on Saturday having outscored the opposition 10-1.—
Josh Gross,
Daily News,
25 Feb. 2026
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The number of serious settler attacks including shootings, arson and other violent crimes has increased sharply each year since far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who spent his law career defending Jews who attacked Palestinians, became national security minister.—
AREF TUFAHA,
Arkansas Online,
24 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 1 Mar. 2026.
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