clung

[kluhng]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR clung ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

simple past tense and past participle of cling¹.

cling

[kling]

verb (used without object), clung, cling·ing.

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.

Origin of cling

before 900; Middle English clingen, Old English clingan to stick together, shrink, wither; akin to clench

Related formscling·er, nouncling·ing·ly, adverbcling·ing·ness, nounun·cling·ing, adjective

Synonyms for cling

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cling ON THESAURUS.COM

2. clutch, grab, hug.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for clung

fasten, clasp, adhere, grip, hug, last, linger, clutch, continue, embrace, stick, cherish, grasp, cohere, squeeze, endure

Examples from the Web for clung

Contemporary Examples of clung

Sierra had clung to life for seven weeks before finally succumbing to her wound.
11 Children Shot in Milwaukee, One in Her Grandpa's Lap
Michael Daly
November 12, 2014
But Kate has clung to her middle-class roots and middle-class ideas of child-rearing defiantly.
Kate and William’s Royal Family Values
Tom Sykes
September 22, 2014
The first run, I just clung to the fence as the bulls passed.
Chicago’s Running of the Bulls
Hampton Stevens
July 26, 2014
With more than 88 percent of precincts reporting, Hanna clung to a six-point lead.
Rockefeller Republicans Surge in New York Primaries
David Freedlander
June 25, 2014
Unlike every other island in the region that abandoned sugar production generations ago, St. Kitts clung to it until recently.
Uncovering the Secrets of St. Kitts
Debra A. Klein
June 21, 2014

Historical Examples of clung

And her eyes fastened on Robin; they clung to him and wouldn't let him go.
Life and Death of Harriett Frean
May Sinclair
She clung to appearances with a tenacity that nothing could shake.
The Raid From Beausejour; And How The Carter Boys Lifted The Mortgage
Charles G. D. Roberts
He had forgotten it was not to him his soul had clung, but to the father of both.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
She clung to him so that he could not help feeling himself her protector.
Ester Ried Yet Speaking
Isabella Alden
I cried out, and in a foolish effort to save him, I must have let go of the ledge to which I clung.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin

British Dictionary definitions for clung

clung

verb

the past tense and past participle of cling

cling

verb clings, clinging or clung (intr)

(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

noun

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

Derived Formsclinging, adjectiveclinger, nounclingingly, adverbclingy, adjectiveclinginess or clingingness, noun

Word Origin for cling

Old English clingan; related to clench

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for clung

Old English clungen, past tense and past participle of cling.

cling

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.