clinging (to)

verb

Definition of clinging (to)next
present participle of cling (to)
1
as in keeping (to)
to give steadfast support to continued to cling to the old ideas of child rearing long after they had gone out of fashion

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in clenching
to have or keep in one's hands clung to a pole in the subway car to keep from falling as it lurched along

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for clinging (to)
  1. holding
  2. grabbing
  3. defending
Verb
  • Waterproof mascaras rely on film-forming copolymers, which help with flexibility, holding the eyelash's curl, and boosting temperature resistance.
    Sarah Han, Allure, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Shakespeare, affectionately known as ‘Two Balls Shakey’ because of his penchant for holding a ball under each arm in training and during warm-up drills, contributed hugely to two promotions from League One in 2009 and the Championship in 2014, the great escape of 2015 and the 5000-1 title success.
    Rob Tanner, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of holding
Verb
  • Rookie defensive tackle Byron Murphy II’s sack on the next snap was negated by a penalty for grabbing the quarterback’s face mask.
    Michael-Shawn Dugar, The Athletic, 23 Dec. 2024
  • The headline-grabbing protests could also inspire some workers to organize unions at new facilities, posing a future threat to the company's distribution network -- but the protesters appear far from attaining the scale necessary for such impact, the experts said.
    Max Zahn, ABC News, 23 Dec. 2024
Definition of grabbing
Verb
  • Boston is the defending champion; Philadelphia has reached one conference championship since 1985.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
  • In just their second year of existence, the Suns beat the defending champion Celtics, 127-116, at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of defending
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near clinging (to)

clinging

clinging (to)

clings

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Cite this Entry

“Clinging (to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clinging%20%28to%29. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.

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