as in parasites
a person who is supported by or seeks support from another without making an adequate return
almost overnight, the singer was a star, and almost overnight, he was surrounded by hangers-on who wanted something
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Recent Examples of hangers-on
The ultimate goal, then, seems to be nothing less than the complete supplanting of MAGA with a new political movement—an angry, ultra-conspiratorial, unbiblical, neo-pagan movement of misfits and their hangers-on.
—
Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Which interpretation lands best with Subramanian will be made clear at Friday’s sentencing hearing — for which Combs, as well as various family members and hangers-on, will be in NYC’s Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2025
Mike Appel led the session from behind the board, with the engineer Louis Lahav at his side and a scattering of staff, friends, and other hangers-on lurking here and there.
—Peter Ames Carlin, Rolling Stone, 13 Aug. 2025
Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Which interpretation lands best with Subramanian will be made clear at Friday’s sentencing hearing — for which Combs, as well as various family members and hangers-on, will be in NYC’s Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2025
Mike Appel led the session from behind the board, with the engineer Louis Lahav at his side and a scattering of staff, friends, and other hangers-on lurking here and there.
—Peter Ames Carlin, Rolling Stone, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hangers-on
parasites
Noun
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These methods sort through the DNA in a sample looking for specific genes that are signatures of parasites like pinworms, as well as bacterial pathogens.—
Veronique Greenwood,
Time,
24 Oct. 2025
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Extreme temperatures, parasites, viruses, fungi, and bacteria are also major dangers.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hangers-on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hangers-on. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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