1
as in kept (to)
to give steadfast support to
continued to cling to the old ideas of child rearing long after they had gone out of fashion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in clenched
to have or keep in one's hands
clung to a pole in the subway car to keep from falling as it lurched along
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clung (to)
Verb
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Tuanzebe—born in Bunia, raised in Rochdale—is sprinting toward the corner flag, fists clenched at his waist, triumphant.—
Franklin Leonard,
Vanity Fair,
14 May 2026 -
Knives are clutched, teeth are clenched, and a desperate Russian ex-pat yells loud enough for their long-dead ancestors to hear all the way back in the motherland.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
13 May 2026
Verb
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The princess, who shares her father's ginger locks, wore her hair long and loose and clutched a big bunch of red helium balloons.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
18 May 2026
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Knives are clutched, teeth are clenched, and a desperate Russian ex-pat yells loud enough for their long-dead ancestors to hear all the way back in the motherland.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Putin had supposedly spent weeks hiding in an underground bunker gripped by fears of an assassination or coup d’etat.—
Natasha Lindstaedt,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2026
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The central African country and its neighboring Uganda have been gripped by an outbreak of the deadly viral disease, which the World Health Organization has declared an international public health emergency.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
23 May 2026
Verb
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The rapper, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, has been held at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center since he was arrested in September 2024.—
Daniel S. Levine,
People.com,
6 Aug. 2025
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That means every state budget could be held hostage until the whims of a small fraction of legislators is satisfied.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
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On Saturday, Hill defended Carter after former Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes explained why publicly targeting a teammate is frowned upon inside an NFL locker room.—
Bobby Burack OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
24 May 2026
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In 2024, the national team won both the U-20 and U-17 World Cups, and successfully defended the latter in 2025.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 May 2026
Verb
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Young grabbed onto Elijah’s hair to try to hang onto the moment.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
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Becerra blunder The first ad that grabbed my attention was a quick-turn by San José Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Matt Mahan (still stuck in single-digit polling numbers), who jumped on Xavier Becerra’s first major mess-up.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
Verb
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French director Arthur Harari stood by his signing of an open letter sounding the alarm over tycoon Vincent Bollore’s growing influence on the French media and entertainment sectors at the press conference for his Cannes Competition film The Unknown on Tuesday.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
19 May 2026
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The two stayed friendly afterward, and Williams stood by Longet when tragedy and scandal struck a year later, in 1976.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
15 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Clung (to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clung%20%28to%29. Accessed 27 May. 2026.
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