as in clutching
to have or keep in one's hands
clenched a tissue in his hands as he told his story of misfortune
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Recent Examples of clenching
In the premiere, Rue and Faye run drugs across the border, clenching their butts to hold bags of fentanyl in their digestive tract for as long as possible.
—
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 13 Apr. 2026
Protect against teeth grinding, clenching and enamel damage with custom dental solutions from ClearClub.
—Tory Johnson, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2026
Melvin Council stood amid a crowd of his Kansas teammates, clenching a black belt in his fist.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 25 Jan. 2026
Wole faced fixedly forward, both fists clenching the steering wheel.
—David Wright Faladé, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 13 Apr. 2026
Protect against teeth grinding, clenching and enamel damage with custom dental solutions from ClearClub.
—Tory Johnson, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2026
Melvin Council stood amid a crowd of his Kansas teammates, clenching a black belt in his fist.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 25 Jan. 2026
Wole faced fixedly forward, both fists clenching the steering wheel.
—David Wright Faladé, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clenching
Verb
-
Morales is seen in surveillance video clutching at Pulido’s sweater a couple of times with Pulido brushing his hand away before Morales returns and the beating and kicking commences.—
City News Service,
Oc Register,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Steinem entered the quietly buzzing room wearing all black and clutching a wooden cane painted with blue and pink birds in her right hand.—
Savannah Walsh,
Vanity Fair,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Another, from 2009, is dominated by the profile of what appears to be a guard dog gripping a black hunk of something unidentifiable.—
Ben Davis,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
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Meanwhile, Nazem Kadri is passing up shots and sometimes looks uncomfortable gripping his stick right now.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Besides holding the other candidates hostage in his attic until after the election, there’s probably nothing that could help him.—
Matt Fleming,
Oc Register,
1 May 2026
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The offenders then allegedly demanded access to a safe, a computer and accounts holding cryptocurrency.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
There’s also significant doubt among Republicans as to whether DeSantis will even accomplish the goal of grabbing at least four more seats.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 May 2026
-
The shortage started grabbing headlines early last month.—
Jibin Joseph,
PC Magazine,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clenching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clenching. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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