to remain or stay on in a place longer than is usual or expected, as if from reluctance to leave: We lingered awhile after the party.
to remain alive; continue or persist, although gradually dying, ceasing, disappearing, etc.: She lingered a few months after the heart attack. Such practices still linger among the older natives.
to dwell in contemplation, thought, or enjoyment: to linger over the beauty of a painting.
to be tardy in action; delay; dawdle: to linger in discharging one's duties.
to walk slowly; saunter along.
verb (used with object)
to pass (time, life, etc.) in a leisurely or a tedious manner (usually followed by away or out): We lingered away the whole summer at the beach.
Archaic. to draw out or protract.
Origin of linger
1250–1300; Middle English lengeren to dwell, remain (somewhere), frequentative of lengen,Old English lengan to delay, prolong, literally, lengthen. See long1, -er6
SYNONYMS FOR linger
1, 4 tarry.
1, 5 loiter.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR linger ON THESAURUS.COM
OTHER WORDS FROM linger
lin·ger·er,nounlin·ger·ing·ly,adverboutlinger,verb (used with object)o·ver·lin·ger,verb (used without object)
If you’re going for a run or a bike ride, carry a mask in your pocket and avoid busy streets where passersby linger.
The safest ways to exercise during a pandemic|Sara Kiley Watson|September 9, 2020|Popular Science
Ives notes the timing for inclusion is still up in the air, but “another quarter of profitability would help answer any lingering questions that S&P have,” he notes.
Here’s one possible reason why Tesla wasn’t added to the S&P 500|Anne Sraders|September 8, 2020|Fortune
Despite many gaps between stones, sounds briefly lingered inside Stonehenge Lego, the team found.
Stonehenge enhanced sounds like voices or music for people inside the monument|Bruce Bower|August 31, 2020|Science News
Previously, some people in Japan and elsewhere had tested positive twice for the virus weeks apart, but doctors had concluded that those results were due to test errors or lingering infection.
Hong Kong researchers say they’ve found the world’s first case of covid-19 reinfection|Antonio Regalado|August 24, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Then, for the same period, they identified marine heat waves occurring around the world, where water temperatures for a region lingered in the highest 10 percent ever recorded for that place and that time of year.
Species may swim thousands of kilometers to escape ocean heat waves|Carolyn Gramling|August 10, 2020|Science News
Cuomo was asked to show up an hour early, but he evidently did not want to linger at the debate site.
Behind the Scenes With a ‘Site Agent’: The Secret Service’s Hardest Job|Marc Ambinder|October 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One Republican consultant wondered how long Bridgegate will linger.
Vote for the (Alleged) Crooks! How Rick Perry, Chris Christie, and Scott Walker are Running While Under Investigation|Olivia Nuzzi|August 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And when they linger open for just a few seconds longer than usual, it signals a dreaded delay.
Leaky Ceilings, Catcalls, and Uncaged Pythons: 4 Hours on NYC’s Worst Subway|Kevin Zawacki|August 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For a writer who was a master of reduction, never one to linger on the passing view, this was an unusually effulgent paragraph.
Is This Hemingway’s Pamplona or a Lot of Bull?|Clive Irving|July 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In some cases the cost can linger long after the pleasure has dissipated.
The High Cost of An Orgasm: Is Momentary Pleasure Worth a Lifetime of Regret?|Aurora Snow|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I ought to linger nowhere; for misfortune flies to overtake me, and injures all that are connected with me.
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and Travels, Vol. I (of 2)|Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Why did he linger behind when here was grass and water––surely water, for the smell of it was fresh and sweet.
The Eye of Dread|Payne Erskine
But it did linger now, as Cally trod somewhat dreamily over streets that she had long known by heart.
V. V.'s Eyes|Henry Sydnor Harrison
The great Mazzarini Palace looks sad and forlorn; nor do we mean to linger much longer on a scene whence the actors have departed.
The Daltons, Volume II (of II)|Charles James Lever
Let me linger over the memory of scenes which have passed away.