as in clenched
to have or keep in one's hands
he clutched the eggs carefully so he wouldn't drop them
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Recent Examples of clutched
In less than a second, the ball was clutched in Grizzle’s outstretched arms before he was brought down to the turf, part blue and part orange.
—
Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 15 Oct. 2025
Women clutched children in their arms, weeping uncontrollably.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 4 Oct. 2025
Whether draped, cinched, wrapped, or clutched at the sternum, there’s no wrong way to mater this versatile piece.
—Minty Mellon, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2025
Tatum clutched his ankle and writhed in agony on the hardwood of Madison Square Garden before being wheeled to the locker room, head in hands.
—Andy Scholes, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
The twenty-one-year-old is talking on the phone, and the ten-year-old is asleep on the sofa, her iPad clutched in her hands, her mouth slightly open.
—Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2025
With the Emmy engraving completed, Einbender held the trophy in one hand, clutched the hem of her one-shoulder Louis Vuitton gown and her heels with the other, and ambled into the party.
—USA Today, 15 Sep. 2025
According to The Cut, Tami also impersonated Kendra for her last Halloween party, dressing as a scarecrow in a prison jumpsuit paired with a mask of her mugshot and phones clutched in its hands.
—Jordana Comiter, People.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Zarutska clutched her throat and collapsed.
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 15 Oct. 2025
Women clutched children in their arms, weeping uncontrollably.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 4 Oct. 2025
Whether draped, cinched, wrapped, or clutched at the sternum, there’s no wrong way to mater this versatile piece.
—Minty Mellon, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2025
Tatum clutched his ankle and writhed in agony on the hardwood of Madison Square Garden before being wheeled to the locker room, head in hands.
—Andy Scholes, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
The twenty-one-year-old is talking on the phone, and the ten-year-old is asleep on the sofa, her iPad clutched in her hands, her mouth slightly open.
—Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2025
With the Emmy engraving completed, Einbender held the trophy in one hand, clutched the hem of her one-shoulder Louis Vuitton gown and her heels with the other, and ambled into the party.
—USA Today, 15 Sep. 2025
According to The Cut, Tami also impersonated Kendra for her last Halloween party, dressing as a scarecrow in a prison jumpsuit paired with a mask of her mugshot and phones clutched in its hands.
—Jordana Comiter, People.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Zarutska clutched her throat and collapsed.
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clutched
Verb
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To estimate 10 degrees in the sky, use the width of your clenched first held at arm's length.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
14 Oct. 2025
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As a model named Carl, stuck in a relationship corrupted by microcelebrity and Instagram view counts, Dickinson ticks with exasperation and sarcastic logic, his jaw clenched, his eyes wide and staring.—
Carrie Battan,
Vulture,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The group has grown from 35 member organizations to 75 in the four and a half years since statue-toppling gripped America.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Theresa is easy not to notice in everyday life, and Keaton tapped into that ordinariness, along with the wanderlust that gripped so many discontented antiheroes of the 1970s.—
Tim Grierson,
Rolling Stone,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The rapper, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, has been held at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center since he was arrested in September 2024.—
Daniel S. Levine,
People.com,
6 Aug. 2025
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That means every state budget could be held hostage until the whims of a small fraction of legislators is satisfied.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Two of them were on the doors of a reach-in cooler on the expo line and were grabbed by the manager.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
17 Oct. 2025
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MacDonald grabbed a knife from the kitchen and threatened to kill himself, cutting at his throat, prosecutors said.—
Caelyn Pender,
Mercury News,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clutched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clutched. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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