Synonyms of lingering

lingering 1 of 2

adjective

as in residual

still existing or happening after something is completed or removed

The area is still feeling the lingering effects of the hurricane.

There are lingering questions about the extent of his involvement in the crime.

Related Words

• residual
• lasting
• persisting
• remaining
• enduring
• leftover
• continuing
• abiding
• staying
• holding up
• keeping up
• surviving
• biding
• perduring
• holding on
• tarrying
• running on
• prevailing
• sticking around
• carrying through

Dissimilar Words

• waning
• dying (down)
• subsiding
• ebbing
• abating
• dying
• passing
• ending
• moderating
• letting up
• finishing
• concluding
• closing
• stopping
• lapsing
• terminating
• expiring
• winding up
• ceasing
• quitting
• leaving off
• desisting
• discontinuing

lingering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of linger

as in delaying

to move or act slowly

since they were charging by the hour, the house painters lingered in finishing up their work

Synonyms & Similar Words

• delaying
• dragging
• poking
• crawling
• creeping
• strolling
• loitering
• lagging
• playing
• dawdling
• shuffling
• falling behind
• stalling
• moping
• tarrying
• dropping behind
• hanging fire
• lollygagging
• marking time
• diddling
• dallying
• dillydallying
• lounging
• staggering
• idling
• dragging one's feet
• taking one's time
• shilly-shallying
• trifling
• sauntering
• loafing
• fiddling (around)
• ambling
• puttering (around)
• hanging (around or out)
• pottering (around)
• fooling around
• lolling
• inching
• messing around
• easing
• monkeying (around)
• decelerating
• slowing (down or up)
• procrastinating
• temporizing
• plodding
• lumbering
• filibustering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• running
• tearing
• flying
• hurrying
• rushing
• whirling
• hastening
• scurrying
• racing
• ripping
• scudding
• dashing
• speeding
• barreling
• whizzing
• zipping
• darting
• coursing
• bolting
• whisking
• rocketing
• scooting
• careering
• scrambling
• running
• breezing
• stampeding
• hurtling
• hustling
• galloping
• humping
• bowling
• trotting
• sprinting
• accelerating
• jogging
• quickening
• hotfooting (it)
• speeding (up)
• overtaking
• outrunning
• catching up
• outstripping
• outpacing
• fast-forwarding

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of lingering

Adjective

On the one hand, that means that many survive the disease without serious lingering effects. — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2025

Thomas missed 57 games last season, mostly because of the same lingering left hamstring issue. — C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2026

Verb

At night, a show, a movie, a long lingering dinner or even an evening with the stars. — Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026

Any strange or lingering foot symptoms, though, could be a sign of a bigger health condition. — Erica Sloan, Washington Post, 3 July 2026

So exemplary was Bergeron’s career, on the ice and off, there are no lingering grudges in this or that city, no bills to pay, no scores to settle. — Steve Buckley, New York Times, 23 June 2026

However, nights remain short for observers in the northern hemisphere and lingering twilight could make auroras harder to spot. — Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 2 July 2026

But for a growing number of older people, those retirement years are arriving with lingering debt problems attached. — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 23 June 2026

And there is lingering uncertainty with captain Dylan Larkin wanting out. — ABC News, 2 July 2026

This season, our editors are savoring the activities that take us back to some of our favorite childhood days—jumping off docks, sliding down twisty pool slides, and lingering outside long into the evening. — Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 4 July 2026

Scientists say the combined effects of a lingering marine heatwave and a strengthening El Niño could disrupt food supplies for key species in the California Current, even as coastal upwelling may offer some localized relief. — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 2 July 2026