as in adhesive
tending to adhere to objects upon contact
it took forever to clean up the clingy Styrofoam pellets that had been used as packing material for the lamp
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Recent Examples of clingy
The proof is in their clingy jerseys.
—
Payton Titus, Louisville Courier Journal, 5 Mar. 2026
Belle is more outgoing and adventurous, while Chai was more clingy.
—Ryan Brennan
march 4, Charlotte Observer, 4 Mar. 2026
While Robbie’s Cathy is spunky, stubborn, and independent, Elordi’s Heathcliff is brooding, desperate, and clingy.
—Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 12 Feb. 2026
Naval warfare goes a bit clingy as Lockheed Martin unveils its robotic Lamprey Multi-Mission Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (MMAUV), which can hitch a ride on friendly ships or submarines by latching onto their hulls to conserve power.
—David Szondy
february 09, New Atlas, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for clingy
Payton Titus, Louisville Courier Journal, 5 Mar. 2026
Belle is more outgoing and adventurous, while Chai was more clingy.
—Ryan Brennan
march 4, Charlotte Observer, 4 Mar. 2026
While Robbie’s Cathy is spunky, stubborn, and independent, Elordi’s Heathcliff is brooding, desperate, and clingy.
—Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 12 Feb. 2026
Naval warfare goes a bit clingy as Lockheed Martin unveils its robotic Lamprey Multi-Mission Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (MMAUV), which can hitch a ride on friendly ships or submarines by latching onto their hulls to conserve power.
—David Szondy
february 09, New Atlas, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for clingy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clingy
Adjective
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They are typically composed of flexible materials and come in various forms, such as nasal clips, external adhesive strips or intranasal devices.—
Samantha Agate,
Charlotte Observer,
1 May 2026
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Dripping glitter, shimmering adhesive crystals, dramatic slashes of eyeliner and smudges of eyeshadow—there was a playful, shifting experimentalism here, to signal the young characters’ changeability and ingenuity.—
Naomi Fry,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The worry looming over the economy Earlier this month, Dimon had also warned in his shareholder letter that the war in Iran risks oil and commodity price shocks that could keep inflation sticky and push interest rates higher than the market now expects.—
USA Today,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
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Apollo chief economist Torsten Slok has warned the combination of tariffs, sticky inflation, and slowing growth can create a stagflation-like setup, one that would be hostile to both markets and consumers.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clingy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clingy. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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