lingers

verb

present tense third-person singular of linger
as in drags
to move or act slowly since they were charging by the hour, the house painters lingered in finishing up their work

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lingers Inside Fort Worth's Cowboy Coliseum, a historic 1908 indoor rodeo venue in the heart of the city's famous Stockyards, the gunpowdery smell of pyrotechnics lingers in the air. — Christine Lennon, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Aug. 2026 Sorsby eventually withdrew from college and gave up the fight, but the lawsuit lingers on — triggered by a state court order that had temporarily allowed Sorsby to play despite the NCAA longtime ban of players who gamble. — ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026 Though high temperatures should be winding down, a new analysis by Climate Central, an independent research organization found that fall is becoming warmer in the Kansas City area as summer heat lingers longer. — Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 30 Aug. 2026 During these months, the sun lingers well past midnight, giving you more time to explore and cover ground. — Gwen Nicol, Travel + Leisure, 29 Aug. 2026 The image of him, his attire a blasphemous betrayal of the wholesome fun a clown costume promises, and with vibrant, colorful balloons in his hand, lingers in our minds for a long time. — Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2026 Nearly the entire group lingers in the living room—playing chess, swapping stories, exchanging photos. — Johanna Wolfe, Robb Report, 22 Aug. 2026 As attendees make their way out of the venue, excitement lingers through the air. — Kailyn Brown, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026 This separating of spheres feels particularly crucial given the embarrassment surrounding NFTs that still lingers among many art professionals. — Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, ARTnews.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lingers
  1. drags
  2. delays
  3. crawls
  4. pokes
Verb
  • Burkhart added that if the trade war drags on, businesses will face far greater risks and consumers — already facing difficulties keeping up with inflation and higher fuel prices — will face a greater challenge with the cost of living.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The move drags romance into spaces once reserved for a workout or a self-care Sunday.
    — Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of drags
Verb
  • So pretending imbalance isn't happening — like when one partner is regularly absorbing all the work and smiling through it — just delays the same resentment that often festers in exchange relationships.
    — Mark Travers, CNBC, 30 Aug. 2026
  • That is not only a problem for expanding power grid infrastructure to support growing electricity demand, but also delays the process of replacing aging power transformers.
    — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of delays
Verb
  • Hairy-nosed wombat births are hard to spot, as after about a 30-day pregnancy, the joey crawls into its mother’s pouch.
    — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Researchers have developed a new control framework that enables humanoid robots to perform agile movements, including army crawls, breakdancing and backflips.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawls
Verb
  • Adults’s Gen-Z characters tend to see their comforts as transient, their identities as mutable, and seriousness as an annoying obligation, all of which the second season pokes at a bit.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Even in the bathrooms, the toilet and bidet are concealed inside a kind of Travertine bench and the showerhead pokes out from a monolithic stone slab.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of pokes

Browse Nearby Words

lingeringly
lingers
lingo
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lingers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lingers. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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