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
The late Luke Perry only appeared on one episode of Criminal Minds, but his character’s presence lingered long after he was gone.
—
Rachel Labonte, Entertainment Weekly, 9 June 2026
In the compound, the influence of the Tates’ father lingered.
—Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
But what lingered was Commissioner Steve Glassman’s outburst.
—Steve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel, 6 June 2026
And for the White family, questions lingered.
—Karen Morfitt, CBS News, 5 June 2026
Cholowsky and the bat boy lingered in their embrace, clinging to the final remnants of a season neither seemed ready to leave behind.
—Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 1 June 2026
Admirers of Lean’s superb 1940s Dickens adaptations, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist, might wish Thompson had lingered longer over them.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 27 May 2026
Kramer denied wrongdoing, but the damage to public trust has lingered.
—East Bay Times Editorial, Mercury News, 26 May 2026
The defeat left Haugh inconsolable, stunned Florida’s locker room and lingered long after the final buzzer.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 May 2026
Rachel Labonte, Entertainment Weekly, 9 June 2026
In the compound, the influence of the Tates’ father lingered.
—Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
But what lingered was Commissioner Steve Glassman’s outburst.
—Steve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel, 6 June 2026
And for the White family, questions lingered.
—Karen Morfitt, CBS News, 5 June 2026
Cholowsky and the bat boy lingered in their embrace, clinging to the final remnants of a season neither seemed ready to leave behind.
—Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 1 June 2026
Admirers of Lean’s superb 1940s Dickens adaptations, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist, might wish Thompson had lingered longer over them.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 27 May 2026
Kramer denied wrongdoing, but the damage to public trust has lingered.
—East Bay Times Editorial, Mercury News, 26 May 2026
The defeat left Haugh inconsolable, stunned Florida’s locker room and lingered long after the final buzzer.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lingered
Verb
-
That money was delayed in getting to Foxborough amid a congressional funding freeze.—
Chad Graff,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
-
The team’s charter flight from Mexico to Miami Sunday night was delayed a few hours due to missing documentation.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
Even fever can’t keep him down, as the 27-year-old dragged himself off the bench at half-time to score a brace and change the game in a 3-2 comeback triumph at Torino on Monday.—
Jack Bantock,
New York Times,
12 Dec. 2025
-
The chute dragged the skydiver backward, knocking the camera operator off the plane and into free fall.—
Mithil Aggarwal,
NBC news,
12 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Her long-term partner, Rich Paul, recently poked fun at his lady love's musical prowess while being interviewed on the Glass Half Full with Craig Melvin podcast.—
Rachel McRady,
PEOPLE,
10 June 2026
-
The 14-day relative strength index has also just poked above the 50 level for the first time since late February.—
Frank Cappelleri,
CNBC,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
In another, the same material crawled like a biological organism, mimicking natural motion.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Aug. 2025
-
Five roaches breathed their last on the kitchen floor where two roaches crawled away.—
David J. Neal
August 1,
Miami Herald,
1 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Fans wearing jerseys of all teams strolled through to take in the displays and snap selfies.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
17 June 2026
-
Liv announced, as Smith strolled onstage, a surprise that nobody saw coming.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
8 June 2026
Verb
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The aircraft loitered south of the Cayman islands while a spell of bad weather passed by.—
David Hambling,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2026
-
Since late November, multiple Russian-origin cargoes of naptha have diverted, loitered in Venezuelan waters, or reversed course.—
Lori Ann LaRocco,
CNBC,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
That's one reason the idea of debt settlement has crept back into the conversation, particularly for people whose financial situations have taken a sharp turn.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
10 Dec. 2025
-
This narrative has previously crept into remarks by US Cabinet officials.—
CNN Staff,
CNN Money,
10 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lingered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lingered. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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