HANGING ON Synonyms: 80 Similar and Opposite Words

hanging on

verb

present participle of hang on

as in keeping up

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as in holding on

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for hanging on

Verb

Most older adults believe the COLA isn’t adequately keeping up with inflation, according to an AARP poll from September.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
In today’s labor market, hiring practices aren’t keeping up with current workforce needs.

— Maha Jweied, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of keeping up

Verb

Fixed on a mobile rig that will at times careen and whoosh across the stage when not otherwise holding on Winter, Anderson’s camera catches the expressionism and chiaroscuro of stage lights illuminating and fading off the singer’s face.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 2 Oct. 2026
Walter didn’t publicly step down from any roles after the stroke, holding on to control of a vast portfolio.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of holding on

Verb

There’s been a lot of talk about carrying on her work, especially during these times when people feel like some of it has been eroded.

— Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 7 Oct. 2026
In the tangled greenery of a Ugandan national park, mountain gorillas sit among the leaves, calmly carrying on as tourists trek into their forest home.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of carrying on

Verb

Dorothy recalls patrons hanging around the shop for hours, running her hands along a rainbow of silk ties, and picking up tailor pins with her cousins to pass the time.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Oct. 2026
May Rosenberg, the wife of the critic Harold Rosenberg, once visited Krasner’s studio and assumed that the man hanging around in dungarees, not saying much of anything, was an intellectually disabled janitor.

— Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of hanging around

Verb

To support Constant’s production, Shopkorn approaches their relationship in a more old-school model, sending her money as a stipend instead of waiting for a sale to go through and split it 50-50 as is now the norm.

— Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Organizations that understand this aren’t waiting for adoption to bubble up from the bottom.

— Ryoji Sekido, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of waiting

Verb

Torrey Lovullo is sticking around; the Diamondbacks manager has signed a two-year extension.

— Levi Weaver, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026
But if the symptoms are sticking around, especially after a dose change, don’t be shy about speaking up at your next appointment.

— Korin Miller, Allure, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of sticking around

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“Hanging on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hanging%20on. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of hanging on

verb

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