clinging
Use Clinging in a sentence
verb (used without object)
1.
to adhere closely; stick to: The wet paper clings to the glass.
2.
to hold tight, as by grasping or embracing; cleave: The children clung to each other in the dark.
3.
to be or remain close: The child clung to her mother's side.
4.
to remain attached, as to an idea, hope, memory, etc.: Despite the predictions, the candidate clung to the belief that he would be elected.
5.
to cohere.
noun
6.
the act of clinging; adherence; attachment.
00:10
Clinging
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Origin:
before 900; Middle English clingen, Old English clingan to stick together, shrink, wither; akin to clench
before 900; Middle English clingen, Old English clingan to stick together, shrink, wither; akin to clench
Related forms
cling·er, noun
cling·ing·ly, adverb
cling·ing·ness, noun
un·cling·ing, adjective
Synonyms
2. clutch, grab, hug.
2. clutch, grab, hug.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To clinging
Collins
World English Dictionary
cling (klɪŋ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb , clings, clinging, clung | |
| 1. | ( |
| 2. | ( |
| 3. | to be or remain physically or emotionally close: to cling to outmoded beliefs |
| —n | |
| 4. | chiefly (US) agriculture the tendency of cotton fibres in a sample to stick to each other |
| 5. | obsolete agriculture diarrhoea or scouring in animals |
| 6. | short for clingstone |
| [Old English clingan; related to | |
| 'clinging | |
| —adj | |
| 'clinger | |
| —n | |
| 'clingingly | |
| —adv | |
| 'clingy | |
| —adj | |
| 'clinginess | |
| —n | |
| 'clingingness | |
| —n | |
| cling (klɪŋ) | |
| —vb , clings, clinging, clung | |
| 1. | ( |
| 2. | ( |
| 3. | to be or remain physically or emotionally close: to cling to outmoded beliefs |
| —n | |
| 4. | chiefly (US) agriculture the tendency of cotton fibres in a sample to stick to each other |
| 5. | obsolete agriculture diarrhoea or scouring in animals |
| 6. | short for clingstone |
| [Old English clingan; related to | |
| 'clinging | |
| —adj | |
| 'clinger | |
| —n | |
| 'clingingly | |
| —adv | |
| 'clingy | |
| —adj | |
| 'clinginess | |
| —n | |
| 'clingingness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
cling
O.E. clingan "hold fast, congeal, shrivel," shifting 13c. to "adhere, stick together," from P.Gmc. *klingg-.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Example sentences
It crept out of the night only to find its way blocked by an eerie, clinging radiation fog.
He accepted obscurity with the same fatalistic confidence he had shown in clinging obstinately to his waning autocracy.
We do learn about her that she wears clinging dresses and disdains underwear.
State and local governments aren't hiring, but they're clinging desperately to the payrolls they've got.
Matching Quote
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
