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cling
1[ kling ]
verb (used without object)
- to adhere closely; stick to:
The wet paper clings to the glass.
- to hold tight, as by grasping or embracing; cleave:
The children clung to each other in the dark.
- to be or remain close:
The child clung to her mother's side.
- to remain attached, as to an idea, hope, memory, etc.:
Despite the predictions, the candidate clung to the belief that he would be elected.
- to cohere.
noun
- the act of clinging; adherence; attachment.
cling
2[ kling ]
noun
- a clingstone.
cling
/ klɪŋ /
verb
- often foll by to to hold fast or adhere closely (to something), as by gripping or sticking
- foll by together to remain in contact (with each other)
- to be or remain physically or emotionally close
to cling to outmoded beliefs
noun
- agriculture the tendency of cotton fibres in a sample to stick to each other
- obsolete.agriculture diarrhoea or scouring in animals
- short for clingstone
Derived Forms
- ˈclingingly, adverb
- ˈclingy, adjective
- ˈclinginess, noun
- ˈclinging, adjective
- ˈclinger, noun
Other Words From
- clinger noun
- clinging·ly adverb
- clinging·ness noun
- un·clinging adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of cling1
Example Sentences
Paul clings to his old status — it puffs him up.
That’s the time of life when people may not have defined what vacationing means to them and cling to the importance of doing everything together.
Even when Didion moved away from film reviews to become one of the preeminent essayists of her generation, she clung to Wayne as an avatar.
It said they failed to "check that no clandestine entrant was concealed in the vehicle", but Mrs Fenton contested that technically he was clinging to the outside rather than aboard the motorhome.
As in 2012, it remains cruel to bears, who end up exhausted and clinging to a tree.
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