Synonyms of lingers

lingers

verb

present tense third-person singular of linger

as in drags

to move or act slowly

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• drags
• delays
• crawls
• pokes
• loiters
• strolls
• lags
• dawdles
• creeps
• tarries
• plays
• shuffles
• marks time
• mopes
• drops behind
• staggers
• falls behind
• dallies
• diddles
• stalls
• hangs fire
• lollygags
• idles
• saunters
• dillydallies
• drags one's feet
• takes one's time
• ambles
• lounges
• eases
• inches
• lolls
• putters (around)
• shilly-shallies
• decelerates
• potters (around)
• fools around
• fiddles (around)
• monkeys (around)
• lumbers
• trifles
• loafs
• messes around
• hangs (around or out)
• slows (down or up)
• plods
• procrastinates
• temporizes
• filibusters

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hastens
• tears
• runs
• flies
• hurries
• rushes
• scurries
• rips
• whirls
• races
• barrels
• whisks
• courses
• speeds
• careers
• scoots
• dashes
• whizzes
• zips
• hurtles
• bolts
• runs
• hustles
• scuds
• scrambles
• breezes
• rockets
• trots
• bowls
• accelerates
• gallops
• darts
• jogs
• quickens
• stampedes
• humps
• speeds (up)
• sprints
• overtakes
• hotfoots (it)
• outstrips
• outpaces
• outruns
• catches up
• fast-forwards

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of lingers

Smoke lingers over the charred ground as flames burn through the brush while Spokane Valley Fire Department crews respond to the Autumn Lane Fire on Monday. — Amanda Jackson, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2026

High temps have peaked, but heat still lingers The heat wave this weekend was due to an intense heat dome — a mass of high pressure all the way through the higher altitudes of the atmosphere — peaking over Southern California. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 3 Aug. 2026

That question of the why still lingers with just about everybody. — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 1 Aug. 2026

When smoke lingers over a grape in that state, the volatile phenols will bind with the sugars in the grape skins, giving the fruit a smoky, sanguine, ashy taste. — Kate Dingwall, Bon Appetit Magazine, 31 July 2026

By opening training camp on the PUP list, the Eagles preserve the option for Greenard to open the season on the PUP list if the injury lingers longer than anticipated. — Zach Berman, New York Times, 30 July 2026

The longer a transaction lingers, the more opportunities arise for a buyer to find a reason to renegotiate, walk away or wait for a better moment of their own. — Bill Koch, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Now, with the most recent setback, the Royals will continue to monitor Garcia as his hand soreness lingers. — Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 29 July 2026

Lee builds a drone that simply lingers in the background, moving the way a morning breeze might, then plays against it. — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 20 July 2026