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

No more distractions, no more lingering questions, just a baller who loves this sport and continues to level up. — Colton Pouncy, New York Times, 31 July 2026

Although the treatment significantly reduced the cancer, follow-up exams showed lingering traces of the disease. — Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 25 July 2026

Communities near the Canadian fires could see lingering impacts into the weekend as long as fires continue burning and winds keep transporting smoke south. — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 15 July 2026

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

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

Verb

Still, there was a cloud of public doubt lingering over the event. — Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026

For evening observers, this apparition has been more frustrating than triumphant, with Venus lingering low in the glow of twilight instead of climbing into a commanding position. — Joe Rao, Space.com, 5 Sep. 2026

Neal — who rushed for 206 yards on 57 carries while starting three of 10 games his rookie season in New Orleans — had been hampered by a lingering hamstring injury dating to the end of the 2025 campaign. — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026

How To Remove Lingering Odors or Mildew Smells To tackle lingering odors or mildew smells, try adding one cup of white vinegar to the wash cycle, which helps break down odor-causing bacteria and leaves your bath mat smelling fresh. — Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 4 Sep. 2026

The lingering dilemma, which may prove no easier for a future jury to resolve, is what the law should make of someone who was both. — Eren Orbey, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026

Patterson, who turns 27 on Tuesday, has experience at guard and center, and the 49ers needed a backup at both spots considering Toth’s lingering concussion symptoms. — Matt Barrows, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026

Next year’s Superman follow-up Man of Tomorrow hopes to avoid whatever lingering DC baggage and other factors derailed Supergirl. — Mark Hughes, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Plush tannins support flavors of cocoa powder, black licorice, cassis, and the sensation of the famous Rutherford dust in the lingering finish. — Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 28 Aug. 2026