Synonyms of lingered

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• delayed
• dragged
• poked
• crawled
• strolled
• loitered
• crept
• dawdled
• played
• tarried
• lagged
• shuffled
• stalled
• fell behind
• lollygagged
• dallied
• dropped behind
• marked time
• diddled
• lounged
• hung fire
• idled
• moped
• staggered
• sauntered
• dillydallied
• ambled
• dragged one's feet
• took one's time
• loafed
• trifled
• inched
• eased
• shilly-shallied
• lolled
• puttered (around)
• fiddled (around)
• pottered (around)
• hung (around or out)
• plodded
• fooled around
• decelerated
• slowed (down or up)
• temporized
• procrastinated
• lumbered
• messed around
• monkeyed (around)
• filibustered

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rushed
• hurried
• ran
• hastened
• raced
• flew
• sped
• scurried
• tore
• whirled
• dashed
• bolted
• scooted
• ripped
• whizzed
• whisked
• coursed
• darted
• rocketed
• scudded
• zipped
• scrambled
• hustled
• barreled
• ran
• breezed
• hurtled
• jogged
• trotted
• stampeded
• bowled
• galloped
• sprinted
• humped
• accelerated
• careered
• quickened
• overtook
• hotfooted (it)
• sped (up)
• caught up
• outstripped
• outpaced
• outran
• fast-forwarded

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of lingered

Last winter, in his first crack at free agency, Arraez lingered on the open market until late January before signing a one-year, $12 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026

Yet my party of work friends lingered, seeming to savor the change of venue. — Danny Heitman, Christian Science Monitor, 31 July 2026

Halfway into 2026, auto traffic has lingered at the same lower volume, according to the bridge director, while commercial traffic has fallen nearly 15% further. — Anna Clark, ProPublica, 31 July 2026

Lizzie developed a habit of turning it on in the morning and keeping it on in the background through a day of working from home or cleaning the house, and this routine lingered long after the acute phase of the pandemic began to wane. — Hannah Engler Harvey, Longreads, 30 July 2026

Juan Enriquez, who resides on Coleman Avenue, told CBS affiliate KOSA that a strong odor lingered for weeks before authorities were called to the scene. — David Chiu, PEOPLE, 22 July 2026

Events ranging from a baby parade in Flint, Michigan, to a rock concert in Herndon, Virginia, and the America’s Mile marathon in Pittsburgh were canceled Friday as smoke lingered. — Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 18 July 2026

But concerns have lingered, especially after major wins on contracts involving US government policy or actions. — Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 16 July 2026

PayPal, whose shares have lingered close to 10-year lows, isn’t interested in a deal with the bidding group at this time, these people said. — Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 15 July 2026