linger
Verb
Verb Forms: lingered, lingering, lingers
- To remain in a place longer than expected; to delay leaving.
- remain present although waning or gradually dying
- "Her perfume lingered on"
- be about
- leave slowly and hesitantly
- take one's time; proceed slowly
- move to and fro
- "The shy student lingered in the corner"
- To stay or remain in a place or situation, especially as if unwilling to depart or not easily able to do so.
- To remain alive or existent although still proceeding toward death or extinction; to die gradually.
- To consider or contemplate for a period of time; to engage in analytic thinking or discussion.
Examples
- Don’t LINGER over your Scrabble move; the clock is ticking!
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English lengeren, frequentative of lengen (“to stay, dwell, tarry”), from Old English lenġan (“to lengthen, delay, extend”), from Proto-West Germanic *langijan, from Proto-Germanic *langijaną (compare West Frisian lingje (“to linger”), Dutch lengen, German längen, Icelandic lengja (“to lengthen”)), related to the root of English long. Equivalent to linge or long + -er (frequentative verb suffix).
Synonyms
dawdle, footle, hang around, hover, lallygag, loaf, loiter, lollygag, lounge, lurk, mess about, mill about, mill around, tarry, abide, eld, linger, retard, stay, wait
Antonyms
Scrabble Score: 7
linger: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordlinger: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
linger: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary