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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lingers
This is where Vietnam Syndrome still lingers — not as a slogan, but as a mindset.
—
Ken Toltz, Denver Post, 5 Mar. 2026
Inflation lingers as gas prices fall While some measures of inflation have cooled in recent months, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure has been stuck at about 3% for roughly a year.
—Christopher Rugaber, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2026
Stock futures fell last night, which some investors saw as a precursor to a potential market pullback if the war lingers.
—Toluse Olorunnipa, The Atlantic, 2 Mar. 2026
Spring in Arizona warms up earlier, and the heat lingers well into the fall.
—Hayleigh Evans, AZCentral.com, 2 Mar. 2026
But still, the fact of it lingers.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 2026
So ticket prices could quickly start to increase if the conflict lingers.
—Cara Rubinsky, Arkansas Online, 1 Mar. 2026
If winter lingers, be ready to delay your rose planting.
—Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 26 Feb. 2026
For the parents watching nearby, the larger story lingers.
—Peter Folan, Boston Herald, 25 Feb. 2026
Ken Toltz, Denver Post, 5 Mar. 2026
Inflation lingers as gas prices fall While some measures of inflation have cooled in recent months, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure has been stuck at about 3% for roughly a year.
—Christopher Rugaber, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2026
Stock futures fell last night, which some investors saw as a precursor to a potential market pullback if the war lingers.
—Toluse Olorunnipa, The Atlantic, 2 Mar. 2026
Spring in Arizona warms up earlier, and the heat lingers well into the fall.
—Hayleigh Evans, AZCentral.com, 2 Mar. 2026
But still, the fact of it lingers.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 2026
So ticket prices could quickly start to increase if the conflict lingers.
—Cara Rubinsky, Arkansas Online, 1 Mar. 2026
If winter lingers, be ready to delay your rose planting.
—Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 26 Feb. 2026
For the parents watching nearby, the larger story lingers.
—Peter Folan, Boston Herald, 25 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lingers
Verb
-
Mary Lattimore’s harp spangles the background, while Camille Getz drags her violin across the track, a clever acoustic rendering of a classic shoegaze guitar squeal.—
Sadie Sartini Garner,
Pitchfork,
11 Mar. 2026
-
There’s a level of helplessness that drags up, being surrounded by AI tools and AI updates and AI jobs, only to be faced with an idiot parent or friend or casual acquaintance using AI to justify their shitty actions towards you.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Too much light in the evening — that extra hour from daylight saving time — delays that surge and the cycle gets out of sync.—
Lauran Neergaard,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Too much light in the evening — that extra hour from daylight saving time — delays that surge and the cycle gets out of sync.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
As the Bay Area slowly — some might say glacially — crawls into spring, there’s nothing better than sipping a hot cup of tea or coffee to warm yourself up.—
Kate Bradshaw,
Mercury News,
25 Feb. 2026
-
As with aftermarket switchable sway bar systems, drivers can lock the sway bars in place for better handling and stability at speed and unlock them completely for maximum articulation during bumpy rock crawls.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Williams pokes a single into the right field gap for an RBI.—
Caleb Yum,
Austin American Statesman,
6 Mar. 2026
-
One TikTok video with over 949,000 likes pokes fun at Kempczinski's review by using similar wording to judge other McDonald's items.—
Ramon Padilla,
USA Today,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lingers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lingers. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
