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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Recent Examples of lingered
After being denied by Cuba, the ship approached Florida and lingered offshore, so close the passengers could see the lights of Miami.
—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 June 2026
Steven Rinella's symptoms, on the other hand, lingered for months, leaving him unable to walk down stairs without a handrail or to ride a bike.
—
Bram Sable-Smith,
NPR,
27 June 2026
Still, disagreements over the strait have lingered.
—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
26 June 2026
Yet, the same themes of access and power have lingered around the presidency in the eight decades since.
—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
25 June 2026
Although a few timber remnants still lingered underneath the metal, researchers found little else of the wreckage.
—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
25 June 2026
At times during the current heatwave, nighttime temperatures lingered in the eighties or near ninety.
—
Marshall Shepherd,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2026
The claim that creatine causes hair loss has lingered since 2009, shaping decisions for gym-goers and athletes weighing whether to add it to their routine.
—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
24 June 2026
Based on the way Brown carried himself afterward, the emotions of the Celtics’ Durant pursuit never lingered.
—
Jay King,
New York Times,
24 June 2026
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 June 2026
Steven Rinella's symptoms, on the other hand, lingered for months, leaving him unable to walk down stairs without a handrail or to ride a bike.
—
Bram Sable-Smith,
NPR,
27 June 2026
Still, disagreements over the strait have lingered.
—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
26 June 2026
Yet, the same themes of access and power have lingered around the presidency in the eight decades since.
—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
25 June 2026
Although a few timber remnants still lingered underneath the metal, researchers found little else of the wreckage.
—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
25 June 2026
At times during the current heatwave, nighttime temperatures lingered in the eighties or near ninety.
—
Marshall Shepherd,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2026
The claim that creatine causes hair loss has lingered since 2009, shaping decisions for gym-goers and athletes weighing whether to add it to their routine.
—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
24 June 2026
Based on the way Brown carried himself afterward, the emotions of the Celtics’ Durant pursuit never lingered.
—
Jay King,
New York Times,
24 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lingered
Verb
-
Tuesday night’s showdown with Ecuador was delayed by an hour because of lightning.
-
First, a five-year closing process delayed the project, which was supposed to be completed by 2021.
Verb
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But as the crisis dragged on over six days and pressure from the families of the hostages grew, Israeli leaders gradually became more open to talks, according to a summary of the files released by the Israel State Archives.
-
Around Christmas 2024 the Estlink 2 cable between Finland and Estonia went down after a shadow-fleet tanker, the Eagle S, dragged its anchor across the seabed.
Verb
-
Griffin also poked at the cohosts in the immediate aftermath of Hasselbeck and former View moderator Rosie O'Donnell's legendary on-air fight in 2007, as Griffin was a guest host the following day and brought up the incident numerous times — which annoyed Walters in the moment.
-
Late in the third, the Knights seemed to retake the lead after Pavel Dorofeyev poked home a loose puck.
Verb
-
Chelsea Green crawled from under the ring and evened the odds.
-
The animal eventually crawled under a dock.
Verb
-
To my surprise, Conway showed up, walking Clyde; Bores strolled past me in a dark suit.
-
Others strolled barefoot through the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, named after a courageous man who fought for freedom, not for presidents.
Verb
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Other executives, coaches and support staff loitered in the hall, speaking in hushed tones if at all.
-
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.
Verb
-
Daily drops of 5% and 4% were followed by a 16% slump as jitters crept into the market.
-
On this Hornets team, which crept close to the playoffs last season but still didn’t make it for the 10th year in a row, these two first-round picks aren’t going to start right away unless someone gets hurt.
Cite this Entry
“Lingered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lingered. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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