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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
  • Video captured from the drone’s perspective and released on Facebook, shows the frustrated bobcat standing by a staircase, growling and arching its back at the hovering machine.
    — Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Andrew Garfield is standing by his longtime belief that Spider-Man could be gay.
    — Sameen Chaudhry, USA Today, 2 Sep. 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 organization spent the offseason defending the decision not to sign any real competition or spend a draft pick on the position.
    — Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • How will Arkansas State approach defending TCU, which runs a more pro-style offense compared to Memphis?
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of defending
Verb
  • Whether these ads were meant to imply that clutching and shifting was too physical for women, too unladylike, or just too complex for the little dears is not clear.
    — Jody Mamone, Hartford Courant, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Roma took one last lights-and-sirens ride with Keith that day, clutching his son’s red helmet, now soiled by debris.
    — Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of clutching
Verb
  • On the flip side is the Great Seal of the United States, with the bald eagle gripping arrows in one claw and an olive branch in the other.
    — Jesse Bedayn, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The smaller rocks want to wedge themselves between tread blocks, so tires have to eject those, while also gripping them enough to propel the vehicle.
    — Michael Febbo, The Drive, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of gripping
Verb
  • Unidentified armed federal officers used unmarked rental vehicles to detain people and took some to holding cells in the federal courthouse without explaining what agency held them or why.
    — Daniel Benjamin, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Some were already set up in the street, grouped together holding banners and signs for the events.
    — Jesse McLaren, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of holding
Verb
  • The burger eventually went viral, grabbing the attention of corporate, which put a stop to it, Eater reported in 2013.
    — Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Springshot urged the court to pause Spirit’s data sale until a transparent forensic process establishes that none of the data Google is grabbing is actually owned by third parties.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 10 Sep. 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 19 Sep. 2026.

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