cling1
[kling]
- 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.
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- the act of clinging; adherence; attachment.
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Origin of cling1
before 900; Middle English clingen, Old English clingan to stick together, shrink, wither; akin to clench
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comcling2
[kling]
- a clingstone.
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Origin of cling2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
fasten, clasp, adhere, grip, hug, last, linger, clutch, continue, embrace, stick, cherish, grasp, cohere, squeeze, endureExamples from the Web for cling
Contemporary Examples
But the fact of the matter is the equal protection they cling to is not the reality.
Yet instead of disbelieving that the facts will set us free, we cling to them as if they were spoils of war.
Democrats cling to only to handful of redoubts, often districts gerrymandered by Republican legislatures to be majority black.
Without Dawn and her desperate need to cling to power, the evil place falls apart.
The Walking Dead’s Midseason Finale Shocker: A Cherished Character Meets a Grisly EndMelissa Leon
December 1, 2014
The sharply tailored blazer and weighty jewelry that cling to her body hints at the dominant personality she possesses.
Historical Examples
Their skin does not cling so closely as the skin of oranges.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 5Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
She must have something to which she could cling if it were nothing more than a familiar routine.
DustMr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
She didn't seem willin' to have me go; she seemed to cling to me.
Samantha Among the Brethren, Part 1.Josiah Allen's Wife (Marietta Holley)
If we cling not to Him, our names to that document will be but as dust.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VII (of VII)John Greenleaf Whittier
I cling for a second to what is, and then I fling myself headlong into what is to be.
My Double LifeSarah Bernhardt
cling
- (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 closeto cling to outmoded beliefs
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- agriculture, mainly US the tendency of cotton fibres in a sample to stick to each other
- agriculture obsolete diarrhoea or scouring in animals
- short for clingstone
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Word Origin
Old English clingan; related to clench
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for cling
v.
Old English clingan "hold fast, adhere closely; congeal, shrivel" (strong verb, past tense clang, past participle clungen), from Proto-Germanic *klingg- (cf. Danish klynge "to cluster;" Old High German klinga "narrow gorge;" Old Norse klengjask "press onward;" Danish klinke, Dutch klinken "to clench;" German Klinke "latch").
The main sense shifted in Middle English to "adhere to" (something else), "stick together." Of persons in embrace, c.1600. Figuratively (to hopes, outmoded ideas, etc.), from 1580s. Of clothes from 1792. Related: Clung; clinging.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper