clingy
Americanadjective
-
clingier,
comparative
-
clingiest
superlative
Usage
What does clingy mean? A person who is overly attached to or emotionally dependent on another person can be described as clingy. What are some other words related to clingy?
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of clingy
Explanation
Someone who's clingy needs a lot of attention or emotional support. Your clingy friend gets very upset when you hang out with your other pals and don't invite him. There are several ways to be clingy, including being emotionally demanding or possessive, like a clingy boyfriend. A clingy child might even physically cling to her parent's leg, wanting to be as close as possible. The emotional meaning of clingy comes from the image of a vine twined around a fencepost, clinging to it. Literally clingy things are sticky or adhesive, like a long, clingy skirt that sticks to your legs.
Vocabulary lists containing clingy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Just two nights earlier, Jimmy Kimmel introduced his own clingy “assistant Natalie,” played by his wife and the show’s executive producer, Molly McNearney.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
People are getting clingy with their chatbots—and it’s giving friends and family pause.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
In the middle are two young society beauties wearing the new clingy fashions with uncaricatured style, but amongst the mixed-sex groups that mill around them are gratuitously padded older women.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2025
She just didn’t put up with B.S. from guys who were trying to diminish her, call her irrational and insinuate she was clingy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2025
“It means, I never made any promises to Audrey. She got clingy and possessive.”
From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence
Forged in supernovae, magnetars are imbued with magnetic fields a trillion times clingier than refrigerator magnets, strong enough to split x-ray photons and stretch normal atoms into oblong shapes.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 8, 2021
Back in Silver Spring, Yamel Alcantara’s 2-year-old has become clingier than usual, asking to be carried most of the time.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 17, 2020
Later on, Rebecca revealed that while she and Alex are also pet parents to two sister cats, Ziggy is “by far the clingier of the two.”
From Fox News ● Mar. 4, 2020
To date, it has involved a lot of leather in outsize blouson proportions and knitwear in clingier, artier forms.
From New York Times ● Feb. 18, 2020
Cats are clingier to their human owners than their reputation would suggest.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 13, 2019
Saltwater mussels are some of the worlds clingiest creatures, able to stay stuck to slippery rocks while being thrashed by pounding surf.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 26, 2017
Irving has an ever-expanding repertoire that can embarrass the clingiest perimeter defenders.
From Washington Times ● May 31, 2017
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
