cleave to

verb

cleaved to; cleaved to; cleaving to; cleaves to
Synonyms of cleave tonext
formal + literary
1
: to stay very close to (someone)
children cleaving to their families
2
: to stick closely to (something)
—usually used figuratively
He continued to cleave to the beliefs of his childhood.

Examples of cleave to in a Sentence

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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.
Cleaving from himself as Comet, FourArm cleaves to himself as FiveArm’s remnant, and so—are Comet and FourArm two selves of the same self? — Mandy-Suzanne Wong, Longreads, 5 Feb. 2026 In Moby Dick, Wilson cleaves to the story’s central existential quest, evoking the strangeness and humor of his source material through his own unmistakable landscapes. — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 1 May 2026 That may be why the dominant strains in American modernism (at least until the mid-twentieth century, when the sublime reappeared in the work of the Abstract Expressionists) cleaved to the factual, the intimate, the proximate. — Sebastian Smee, New Yorker, 4 May 2026

Rhymes for cleave to

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Browse Nearby Words

cleaverwort
cleave to
cleavingly
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Cite this Entry

“Cleave to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cleave%20to. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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