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
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Recent Examples of linger
Though no formal penalty was issued then, the incident lingered in memory, and Sunday's repeat only reignited the debate.
—
Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 July 2025
Her eyes linger on the sandwich board out front, with words scrawled in chalk.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 17 July 2025
Devers balked at moving to play first base, and controversy lingered leading up to the trade.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 16 July 2025
New research provides evidence that the condition arises from lingering levels of Neanderthal DNA in our genomes, which may cause people with Chiari to have a more compact and flatter occipital bone — the part of the skull that cups the cerebellum.
—Ruairi MacKenzie, Discover Magazine, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for linger
Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 July 2025
Her eyes linger on the sandwich board out front, with words scrawled in chalk.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 17 July 2025
Devers balked at moving to play first base, and controversy lingered leading up to the trade.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 16 July 2025
New research provides evidence that the condition arises from lingering levels of Neanderthal DNA in our genomes, which may cause people with Chiari to have a more compact and flatter occipital bone — the part of the skull that cups the cerebellum.
—Ruairi MacKenzie, Discover Magazine, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for linger
Recent Examples of Synonyms for linger
Verb
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Apple looks to have delayed the release of the new macOS hardware into 2026.—
Ewan Spence,
Forbes.com,
13 July 2025
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The flight has since been delayed and is now expected to depart from Sydney at 7:25 a.m.—
Brenton Blanchet,
People.com,
12 July 2025
Verb
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Insects and other pests like rodents can easily crawl inside and make themselves at home.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
19 July 2025
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This remains a place where crabs crawl out of the water at sunset, stingrays swim around surfers in the Pacific, and languidly smiling sloths—the national mascot—remind us all to slow down.—
Laura Dannen Redman,
AFAR Media,
16 July 2025
Verb
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The hard foul came after Sheldon poked Clark in the eye in the third quarter.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
13 July 2025
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The couple began dating in 2023 and frequently poke fun at each other on their social media pages.—
Caroline Blair,
People.com,
11 July 2025
Verb
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The plucky little superdog drags Superman to the Fortress of Solitude, where he is treated by a posse of robots.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
11 July 2025
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That’s good for everyone, even expat journalists dragging their kids along to cover a new story.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
11 July 2025
Verb
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In another scenario, New Berlin police officers responded to a woman who was loitering and recognized signs of schizophrenia and PTSD.—
Bridget Fogarty,
jsonline.com,
3 July 2025
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Two men in T-shirts, who had been loitering for hours, followed him.—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
13 June 2025
Verb
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Iris Delgado, 33, has strolled the Home Depot parking lot nearly every day with a cart of water bottles for day laborers and a cellphone to occasionally livestream.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 July 2025
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In other words, curiosity seekers can stroll by the Littrells’ house with their feet in the water, but can’t stop to hang out and grab some rays.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
9 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Linger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/linger. Accessed 24 Jul. 2025.
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