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 There are also lingering frustrations over how Martin handled the follow-up report on the 2024 election. — ABC News, 2 Aug. 2026 Infections can linger Inside the body, Cyclospora infections can last for weeks or months. — Pien Huang, NPR, 2 Aug. 2026 This is because cucumbers are quick-growing plants, and removing old, desiccating vines provides an opportunity to reduce much of the pest pressure and disease sources that may be lingering. — Anthony Reardon, Kansas City Star, 2 Aug. 2026 The high temperatures are the result of a high-pressure system lingering over the area. — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 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
  • Evander scored a go-ahead goal from distance in the 82nd minute and Cincinnati beat the San Jose Earthquakes 4-2 on Saturday night in a game delayed over two hours due to weather.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Aug. 2026
  • The airport says arrivals to Denver are also delayed an average of 15 minutes and increasing due to the weather.
    — Christa Swanson, CBS News, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of delay
Verb
  • Oil prices got back to jumping on Wednesday, while sinking technology stocks dragged Wall Street lower amid uncertainty about what the Federal Reserve will do to get high inflation under control.
    — Stan Choe, Fortune, 29 July 2026
  • Iran war could drag on for months The US-Iran war will likely drag on for months, analysts predicted, as new strikes disrupted a tenuous pause and the conflict widened.
    — Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 29 July 2026
Definition of drag
Verb
  • Not everyone’s job includes crawling 150 feet through a spillway pipe 20 feet beneath a lake.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 31 July 2026
  • Markets do not hold still for a year and a half while your deal crawls through due diligence.
    — Lien De Pau, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
Definition of crawl
Verb
  • The family dog, named by local media as Rocky, was found alive after one of the rescuers spotted his tail poking out of the rubble.
    — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 30 July 2026
  • While viral videos poke fun, territorial scrums over scarce Costco spots can turn ugly, and sometimes violent.
    — Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 30 July 2026
Definition of poke
Verb
  • Brian Young, AeroVironment’s senior vice president of loitering munitions, said the platform was built with that flexibility from the beginning.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 29 July 2026
  • The pods, each about the size of a dishwasher unit, will loiter there for retrieval by the MRV’s robotic arms.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 24 July 2026
Definition of loiter
Verb
  • Like his teammates, Kelce rarely ran when doing so wasn’t part of a play’s design, often strolling around the practice field.
    — Pete Grathoff July 31, Kansas City Star, 31 July 2026
  • For gardens, Shosei-en is a quiet surprise so close to Kyoto Station that most visitors walk right past it, a strolling garden of ponds, bridges, and teahouses that makes a perfect first or last stop in the city.
    — Shivani Vora, Forbes.com, 29 July 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 4 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of linger for Spanish Speakers

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