as in clutching
to have or keep in one's hands
clenched a tissue in his hands as he told his story of misfortune
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Recent Examples of clenching
In the premiere, Rue and Faye run drugs across the border, clenching their butts to hold bags of fentanyl in their digestive tract for as long as possible.
—
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 13 Apr. 2026
Protect against teeth grinding, clenching and enamel damage with custom dental solutions from ClearClub.
—Tory Johnson, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2026
Melvin Council stood amid a crowd of his Kansas teammates, clenching a black belt in his fist.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 25 Jan. 2026
Wole faced fixedly forward, both fists clenching the steering wheel.
—David Wright Faladé, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 13 Apr. 2026
Protect against teeth grinding, clenching and enamel damage with custom dental solutions from ClearClub.
—Tory Johnson, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2026
Melvin Council stood amid a crowd of his Kansas teammates, clenching a black belt in his fist.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 25 Jan. 2026
Wole faced fixedly forward, both fists clenching the steering wheel.
—David Wright Faladé, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clenching
Verb
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Being middle class comes with a fear of losing a specific sense of safety; the existential quest is finding out if there’s more to life than clutching onto your stuff in anticipatory panic.—
Francesco Pacifico,
The Dial,
12 May 2026
-
Reds closer Emilio Pagán came in to start the ninth and fell to the ground clutching his left hamstring after throwing one pitch to Nico Hoerner.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
6 May 2026
Verb
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Throughout the gripping family drama, starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as evangelical religious figures and parents of five who get caught in a nightmare with Norwegian Child Services, the rapt audience in the Grand Théâtre Lumière barely made a sound.—
Jada Yuan,
HollywoodReporter,
18 May 2026
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The authors found distinctive puncture marks, skeletal damage and dismemberment patterns, all of which were consistent with an apex predator that immobilizes prey through concentrated gripping force, rather than prolonged tearing or chewing.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Verb
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Cross your legs while standing up and holding your arms out to the side, lower yourself to sit criss-cross on the floor by bending your knees, and stand back up—without using your hands, knees, or any furniture, or losing your balance.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
15 May 2026
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During Friday's Morning Meeting , Jim disagreed with investors piling into enterprise software stocks with no meaningful catalysts right now, including companies like Workday , ServiceNow , and Club holding Salesforce , following Ackman's disclosure.—
Natasha Abellard,
CNBC,
15 May 2026
Verb
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The driver who picked up the goods told FT that grabbing items in the location takes roughly five minutes, while the same trip to a Walmart Supercenter store could take 25 minutes.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
15 May 2026
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The Limitless Lash Mascara is especially worth grabbing while it’s marked down.—
Jeaneen Russell,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clenching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clenching. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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