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:
The AKC Canine Health Foundation—which partly funded the work—says owners should watch for unusually withdrawn or clingy behavior, staring at walls, confusion in familiar places and restlessness at night.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Meanwhile, Brittany Wicker says yes to Devonta Anderson soon after they begin dating, but when he discovers she said yes to her wedding dress before they met, he finds that scary and clingy.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026
During Saturday night's live show, Skinner - sporting a clingy, sparkly vest top - hoisted Dowden up so often during their routine, judge Craig Revel Horwood joked it looked more like a weightlifting competition.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2025
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
Shanti shook the clingy mud from her hands.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
