as in drags
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 lingers
The filmmaker rarely lingers, making brief moments of grace — like Gabrielle peeking in at her mom and stepdad taking a nap — all the more resonant for their evanescence.
—
Jon Frosch, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
Warmer and more humid weather moves in on Friday and lingers through the weekend.
—Kansas City Star, 13 May 2026
In one extended toothbrushing sequence, the camera lingers far beyond narrative necessity.
—Andrew S. Jacobson, Baltimore Sun, 13 May 2026
In the third quarter, as the Aces’ points keep piling up, the Jumbotron lingers on a fan wearing a simple white T-shirt, probably self-made, emblazoned with an iconic 2024 image of Kelsey Plum in black sunglasses and head-to-toe black leather.
—Jade Chang, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Flooding lingers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
—Abby Dodge, CBS News, 13 May 2026
Worse, the smell of his daily bagel lingers in the car, often all the way to my place of work 25 minutes down the road from the school.
—Judith Martin, Mercury News, 9 May 2026
The night footage is especially beautiful and memorable, and the careful handling of light shapes an aesthetic that lingers well beyond the final frame.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 7 May 2026
Spiking energy costs as the war in the Middle East lingers.
—Matt Egan, CNN Money, 7 May 2026
Jon Frosch, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
Warmer and more humid weather moves in on Friday and lingers through the weekend.
—Kansas City Star, 13 May 2026
In one extended toothbrushing sequence, the camera lingers far beyond narrative necessity.
—Andrew S. Jacobson, Baltimore Sun, 13 May 2026
In the third quarter, as the Aces’ points keep piling up, the Jumbotron lingers on a fan wearing a simple white T-shirt, probably self-made, emblazoned with an iconic 2024 image of Kelsey Plum in black sunglasses and head-to-toe black leather.
—Jade Chang, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Flooding lingers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
—Abby Dodge, CBS News, 13 May 2026
Worse, the smell of his daily bagel lingers in the car, often all the way to my place of work 25 minutes down the road from the school.
—Judith Martin, Mercury News, 9 May 2026
The night footage is especially beautiful and memorable, and the careful handling of light shapes an aesthetic that lingers well beyond the final frame.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 7 May 2026
Spiking energy costs as the war in the Middle East lingers.
—Matt Egan, CNN Money, 7 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lingers
Verb
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Analysts have repeatedly warned that if the war drags on and supply chains are disrupted for long enough, prices for gas and a range of other goods could continue to climb.—
Wyatte Grantham-Philips,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2026
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Our older cat has no interest in them whatsoever, but our newest baby, Pip, drags his all around the house.—
Jeaneen Russell,
PEOPLE,
13 May 2026
Verb
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As climate change delays the first winter frosts across much of North America, summer ragweed also keeps flowering longer, extending the latter part of pollen season into the fall, said David Wees, a faculty lecturer in horticulture at McGill University in Montreal.—
Keerti Gopal,
ArsTechnica,
8 May 2026
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Copy-on-write is an optimization technique where a system delays making a separate copy of data until it is actually changed.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Leclerc crawls through the long right-hand Turn 12, where Lindblad moves ahead again.—
Alex Kalinauckas,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
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Think about how often your toddler crawls near the dog bed or your kids toss pet toys around the living room.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Kym is the family fuckup and a guilty party to its biggest tragedy but also constantly pokes the bear as its selfish verbal assassin.—
Chris Feil,
Vulture,
1 May 2026
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Instead, the robot simply pokes through it.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lingers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lingers. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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