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linger

verb

ˈliŋ-gər How to pronounce linger (audio)
Definition of lingernext
as in to delay
to move or act slowly since they were charging by the hour, the house painters lingered in finishing up their work

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of linger On Sunday, the flood threat will be in parts of the Lower Midwest and Ohio Valley, while the severe threat will linger in the central Plains. — ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026 The last lingering customers left, and the dismantling began. — Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026 Fazio has sought to tap into voters’ lingering frustrations over electric rates by placing the issue at the center of his messaging. — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026 Monday stays mostly cloudy and cooler with a lingering shower possible, then an even cooler pattern settles in Tuesday and Wednesday. — Kate Bilo, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for linger
Recent Examples of Synonyms for linger
  1. delay
  2. drag
  3. crawl
  4. poke
  5. loiter
  6. stroll
Verb
  • Peterson agreed without hesitation to stay on and help with the funeral, delaying the start of his new position by two weeks.
    — Martin Goillandeau, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
  • While some homeowners like to overseed warm-season lawns with a cool-season grass to keep the lawn green all winter, overseeding a permanent warm-season lawn with cool-season grasses may actually weaken it by delaying next spring’s early growth.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of delay
Verb
  • And my sister dragged me to Loulu, the café-market with an Erewhon collaboration and Cosmic Bliss soft-serve, a lovely afternoon fix for those of us on the East Coast without an Erewhon.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Potelle’s home — like many others’ — remains contaminated as disputes with her insurance company drag on.
    — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of drag
Verb
  • Suki, who had been with her new family only a few weeks, had crawled into an opening in an entertainment center cabinet and could not get out.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
  • And the weirdness of the blue, blue sky above, while hundreds of men crawl around like ants on the rubble.
    — Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of crawl
Verb
  • The dog’s ribs poked out, her skin was irritated and red, and patches of fur were missing — a possible sign of mange.
    — Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Natural light pokes through the windows, adding a trademark freshness to an indoor coliseum.
    — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of poke
Verb
  • The rock kids, the funk kids, the disco-ers, the club rats are all fleetingly conjoined by one pair of highly attuned ears loitering on the streets.
    — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Crowder was charged with one count of loitering with intent to commit a crime in connection with that incident.
    — Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of loiter
Verb
  • But Jon Hamm, strolling up to present the next award, got the better joke in.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The setting is contemporary Paris in crisis, when civil unrest, rather amorphously presented apart from increasing numbers of military on the streets, makes evening strolls potentially problematic.
    — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of stroll

Browse Nearby Words

line up
linger
lingered
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Linger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/linger. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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