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 Many students lingered afterward, to vent and console one another. — Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 5 Oct. 2026 Guests lingered over cocktails, lauding Ghesquière’s formidable creative prowess, personal warmth and loyalty. — Miles Socha, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2026 All three were rushed to Lincoln Hospital, where Quinones lingered in critical condition before dying five days later. — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 1 Oct. 2026 Guests lingered, sharing cigarettes and stealing a last swig of wine as the carpet rolled up. — Ashley Sp, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026 But one of them, perhaps too slow, or too confused, lingered a second longer, and the claw opened and snapped shut. — Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026 Inside a Brazilian stadium Sunday, the same question lingered as two NFL kickers took turns lining up for potential game-winning field goals. — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 28 Sep. 2026 Negative plays on offense lingered, too, with penalties taking away chunk plays and small mistakes compounding into setbacks. — Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 28 Sep. 2026 Watson lingered on the ground for several minutes afterward — so long that backup Shedeur Sanders was brought in for a play after Watson was helped off the field. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 27 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lingered

Verb

Oura was just one of several IPOs that have been delayed over the past month.

— Morgan Chittum, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2026
In the same week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman unveiled Dots, the company pulled its latest AI model and delayed its IPO due to existential safety concerns around the very same AI agent tech.

— Amy O’Brien, Vogue, 6 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

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linger

lingered

lingerer

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“Lingered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lingered. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of lingered

verb

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