Meaning & use
Clinging
Last updated
Holding on tightly to something or someone, or refusing to let go of an idea, habit, or hope.
See it in a sentence
The child was clinging to her mother's leg at the doctor's office.
He kept clinging to the hope that the deal would still go through.
A note on using this word
Can describe both a literal physical grip and an emotional attachment to outdated ideas or relationships.
Words with a similar meaning
clutchingholding ongrasping
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
releasingletting go
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