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

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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 There are few households in Israel that haven’t been affected in some way by the events that have played out since, leaving a sense of profound grief and insecurity that lingers across the Israeli society. — Yarden Segev, NBC news, 27 Oct. 2026 Even as the sense of a hazy disturbance in the force lingers, Burkholder’s approximately three-minute statement at least demystified some of the curious situation. — Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026 In total, the shadow lingers on the cemetery grounds for more than an hour. — Dan Diamond, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026 The camera lingers on the building’s triangular windows and towering bronze sculpture depicting hands passing a Torah from one generation to the next. — Yael Buechler, Sun Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026 While the sun lingers over the horizon, the day’s heat adds a level of difficulty to even the simplest climbing routes. — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026 Afternoon highs on Friday are expected to be a much cooler 57 degrees as a 40% chance of rainfall lingers in the area. — Hali Smith, Idaho Statesman, 20 Oct. 2026 That rinse-clean standard matters for anyone worried about buildup, since a scalp oil that lingers after washing can leave hair looking greasy rather than nourished. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2026 Rain moves into the metro and southern Minnesota through the morning commute and lingers into the afternoon. — October 15, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lingers
  1. drags
  2. delays
  3. crawls
  4. pokes
Verb
  • Try to keep that in mind the next time your kid drags you to some terrible Star Wars thing that nobody asked for.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The deadpan family comedy follows a 63-year-old man who drags nine relatives on a one-day tour of nine temples after a fortune teller warns that his mother will soon die.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of drags
Verb
  • Unexcused absences in three consecutive elections freeze tax IDs, block nonvoters from applying to state jobs, hinders loans from state banks, and delays the issuance of passports.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
  • One medium-sized apple has 4 grams of fiber, including soluble fiber, which delays sugar absorption into the bloodstream.
    — Jillian Kubala, HEALTH, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of delays
Verb
  • There’s also a less than 10% chance of showers, if one of the hurricanes crawls farther up the coast, according to Wofford.
    — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Hairy-nosed wombat births are hard to spot, as after about a 30-day pregnancy, the joey crawls into its mother’s pouch.
    — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawls
Verb
  • And yet there’s this piece in the policy which pokes its head [and forces them to find a surrogate in Texas].
    — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The International Kazoo Championship pokes a little fun at the rigidity of the main stage.
    — David Alm, Longreads, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of pokes

Browse Nearby Words

lingeringly
lingers
lingo
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lingers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lingers. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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