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
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
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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Live ants carry the risk of parasites, while freezing or dehydrating the insects can unintentionally allow harmful bacteria to flourish.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Oct. 2025
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When mixing the live ants with milk, the researchers strained the milk through a filter that allowed bacteria and yeast to move through, but which removed any parasites.—
Amarachi Orie,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hangers-on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hangers-on. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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