LINGERING Synonyms: 138 Similar and Opposite Words

lingering 1 of 2

adjective

as in residual

still existing or happening after something is completed or removed The area is still feeling the lingering effects of the hurricane. There are lingering questions about the extent of his involvement in the crime.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

lingering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of linger

as in delaying

to move or act slowly since they were charging by the hour, the house painters lingered in finishing up their work

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 lingering

Adjective

No more distractions, no more lingering questions, just a baller who loves this sport and continues to level up. — Colton Pouncy, New York Times, 31 July 2026 Although the treatment significantly reduced the cancer, follow-up exams showed lingering traces of the disease. — Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 25 July 2026 Communities near the Canadian fires could see lingering impacts into the weekend as long as fires continue burning and winds keep transporting smoke south. — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 15 July 2026 Thomas missed 57 games last season, mostly because of the same lingering left hamstring issue. — C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2026 On the one hand, that means that many survive the disease without serious lingering effects. — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2025

Verb

Patterson, who turns 27 on Tuesday, has experience at guard and center, and the 49ers needed a backup at both spots considering Toth’s lingering concussion symptoms. — Matt Barrows, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026 For Green, and the Warriors (2-0), the victory eliminated any lingering doubts about their season opener last week, a thrilling, 32-26 triple-overtime win against Newbury Park. — Joel Beers, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026 The warnings were issued late Thursday and early Friday as meteorologists monitored lingering weather conditions along the coastline, stemming from remnants of regional tropical storms. — Noe Padilla, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026 Next year’s Superman follow-up Man of Tomorrow hopes to avoid whatever lingering DC baggage and other factors derailed Supergirl. — Mark Hughes, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026 Plush tannins support flavors of cocoa powder, black licorice, cassis, and the sensation of the famous Rutherford dust in the lingering finish. — Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 28 Aug. 2026 Any lingering precipitation should taper off by evening as skies gradually clear and temperatures fall into the mid-60s overnight. — The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Sun, 28 Aug. 2026 Landry’s still feeling the lingering effects of a knee injury suffered last October against the Saints. — Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 28 Aug. 2026 Despite lingering tensions and uncertainty, members of the community have come together to support one another and are optimistic about the almond crop. — Lizzie Kane, Sacbee.com, 23 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lingering

Adjective

Conditions gradually improve at night, although lingering showers, thunderstorms and pockets of residual flooding remain possible.

— Justin Lewis, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026
The hydrogen peroxide treatment then attacks the remaining dye-cotton linkages and removes residual color.

— Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of residual

Verb

As mentioned previously, Babcock obstinately played a late-career Marleau in significant minutes during his time in Toronto with dragging results.

— Janson Duench, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
The officer ordered him to stop, but the man continued driving, dragging the officer a short distance.

— Mike Hellgren, CBS News, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of dragging

Verb

Most of what’s actionable comes from the signal that might be poking through.

— Ben Gretch, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
In the shade of a dense forest canopy, Odette Kouakou paces through her grove of cocoa trees, snapping off dead leaves and poking the ripe yellow pods hanging down from the branches with a stick.

— Colette Davidson, Christian Science Monitor, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of poking

Verb

One of the groups was seen leaving about three hours afterward, according to the NYPD, while the second odd circumstance ended after individuals were seen crawling out and leaving in a vehicle more than two and a half hours after.

— Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026
Nidhi imagined the baby crawling around in her mother’s body, desperately seeking the uterus, and, failing to find it in its proper place, quietly shrivelling up and dying.

— Madhuri Vijay, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of crawling

Verb

Audiences embraced the films for their creeping realism and slow-building scares, which transformed ordinary bedrooms, hallways and home security cameras into places where something terrifying might be lurking just outside the frame.

— Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026
That has sent oil prices creeping higher for weeks, edging closer to $100 a barrel.

— David Goldman, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of creeping

Browse Nearby Words

lingeries

lingering

lingeringly

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Style

“Lingering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lingering. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of lingering

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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