Meaning & use
linger
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To stay in a place a little longer than needed, usually because you do not want to leave.
Grammar: No object; often followed by a place or over: linger at the door, linger over coffee.
Patterns
- linger somewhere
- linger over something
- linger behind
Several guests lingered in the hall after the party ended.
We lingered over dessert until the restaurant closed.
She lingered at the gate, hoping he would call her back.
verbintransitive
To continue to exist or be felt for a long time, even though it is fading or should have ended.
Grammar: Subject is a smell, doubt, feeling, or illness: the smell lingered.
Patterns
- something lingers
- something lingers on
- something lingers in somewhere
The smell of smoke lingered in the curtains for weeks.
Doubts about the plan lingered in her mind.
A cough lingered long after the cold had gone.
Word forms
| third person singular | lingers |
|---|---|
| past tense | lingered |
| past participle | lingered |
| -ing form | lingering |
Common combinations
- linger over
- They lingered over breakfast on the quiet Sunday morning.
- linger in the air
- The scent of fresh bread lingered in the air.
- linger on
- The memory of that summer lingers on.
- linger behind
- She lingered behind to talk with the teacher.
- linger in the memory
- His kind words linger in my memory.
- linger at the door
- The cat lingered at the door, unwilling to go out into the rain.
Synonyms and how they differ
- loiter
- Loiter often sounds suspicious, as if someone is hanging around without good reason, while linger is gentler and often shows reluctance to leave.
- dawdle
- Dawdle means to move or work too slowly, whereas linger means to stay in place for longer.
- persist
- Persist is a more formal word for continuing to exist, and suggests stubbornness, while linger is softer and suggests slow fading.
- remain
- Remain is neutral and simply means to stay, but linger adds the idea that the staying is slow or unwanted.
Opposites
Word family
- lingering adjective
- lasting a long time, as in a lingering doubt
- lingeringly adverb
- in a slow, unhurried way
- lingerer noun
- someone who stays on after others have left
Commonly confused: linger or lingerie?
linger vs lingerie
Lingerie is women's underwear and nightwear, and is pronounced quite differently. It is related to linen, not to lingering.
Practice
The smell of paint _____ in the hallway for days after the room was finished.
Choose one answer.
Lingered fits because a smell can stay behind for a long time. Hurried, departed, and approached describe movement of people or things, and do not suit a smell that stays put.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “linger”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.