LINGERED Synonyms: 100 Similar and Opposite Words

lingered

verb

past tense of linger

as in delayed

to move or act slowly since they were charging by the hour, the house painters lingered in finishing up their work

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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 lingered That figure declined to 12% as the pandemic lingered in 2021 and to about 3% in 2024. — David Wickert, AJC.com, 12 Oct. 2026 Wallace lingered in the car for a few minutes once slowing to a stop, though — long enough for health workers to unload a stretcher that Wallace ultimately didn’t use. — Charlotte Observer, 11 Oct. 2026 During the week, questions lingered about whether this game would actually take place with Hurricane Isaias making landfall and then heading on a northern track through the state of Alabama. — Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026 As the Rays celebrated on the field at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night, a few Yankees lingered in the dugout and watched their rivals’ joy in pain. — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026 Mottola, Simpson, and Caminero lingered and let the bad feeling of watching someone else revel in success to sink in. — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2026 Older fashions lingered in ruffled collars, peplums and traces of corset boning. — ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026 Many students lingered afterward, to vent and console one another. — Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 5 Oct. 2026 Sunday brought a new word that has lingered as an unmistakable vibe, even in the wins. — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 4 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lingered

Verb

Meanwhile, Air France-KLM has suspended flights to Riyadh until 31 October and Delta Air Lines has delayed planned services from Atlanta to Riyadh, initially due to start on October 23, until March 2027.

— Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2026
Stringer | Reuters Delta Air Lines delayed the launch of its nonstop service between Atlanta and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, following recent attacks on the capital city's airport.

— Alex Harring, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of delayed

Verb

In that case, too, Erica and Peter not only lived nine months rent-free in the apartment until, as the case dragged on, a judge ordered them to start paying for use of the space, but Erica also criticized the conditions there.

— Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 8 Oct. 2026
The Department of Homeland Security initially said the agent was dragged by Villegas Gonzalez' vehicle and then shot Villegas Gonzalez in self-defense.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of dragged

Verb

Bellingham poked in Gordon's cross midway through the first half.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
George Lombard singled in a run, Jazz Chisholm poked one through the right side, Trent Grisham got a bunt down for a hit, knocking Crochet out of the game without getting an out.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of poked

Verb

In real-world tests, the hand crawled across 14 different surfaces including smooth floors, metal grates, grass, and gravel.

— Edd Gent, IEEE Spectrum, 8 Oct. 2026
OpenAI’s agents also crawled millions of pages and made thousands of data queries, which may have led to the partial outage of the Wikidata Query Service (WDQS) in May, the post adds.

— Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of crawled

Verb

Just three days after surgery to remove one of his kidneys, Miller slowly strolled right in — cane in hand — and took a seat with Council, firing off jokes without missing a beat.

— Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 8 Oct. 2026
Fresh off a meeting, Zach Harrison strolled through the Falcons’ locker room and felt his phone buzz.

— Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of strolled

Verb

Other executives, coaches and support staff loitered in the hall, speaking in hushed tones if at all.

— Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 1 May 2026
In the petition filing, Buckingham wrote that Dick had loitered around his and his family members’ homes, called repeatedly and left threatening voicemails, and taped a photo collage of herself and Buckingham to his mailbox.

— Senior Television, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2026

Definition of loitered

Verb

The cash conversion cycle has lengthened, inventory turnover has slowed, and average days on the lot have crept higher.

— Michael Khouw, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026
Orange is 5-0 for the first time since 2017 and has also crept into the final spot of The Times’ top 25 rankings for the Southland.

— Caleb Otte, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of crept

Browse Nearby Words

linger

lingered

lingerer

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“Lingered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lingered. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of lingered

verb

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