Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Linger
Lin′ger
(lĭṉ′gẽr)
, Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Lingered
(lĭṉ′gẽrd)
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Lingering
.] To delay; to loiter; to remain or wait long; to be slow or reluctant in parting or moving; to be slow in deciding; to be in suspense; to hesitate.
Nor cast one longing,
lingering
look behind. Gray.
Syn. – To loiter; lag; saunter; delay; tarry; stop; hesitate.
Lin′ger
,Verb.
T.
1.
To protract; to draw out.
[Obs.]
She
lingers
my desires. Shakespeare
2.
To spend or pass in a lingering manner; – with out;
as, to
. linger
out one’s days on a sick bedDryden.
Webster 1828 Edition
Linger
LIN'GER
, v.i.1.
To delay; to loiter; to remain or wait long; to be slow.Nor cast one longing, lingering look behind.
Whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not. 2Peter 2.
2.
To hesitate; to be slow in deciding; to be in suspense.Perhaps thou lingerest, in deep thought detained.
3.
To remain long in any state. The patient lingers on a bed of sickness.LIN'GER
,Verb.
T.
Definition 2024
linger
linger
English
Verb
linger (third-person singular simple present lingers, present participle lingering, simple past and past participle lingered)
- (intransitive) To stay or remain in a place or situation, especially as if unwilling to depart or not easily able to do so; to loiter.
- 1859, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, ch. 15:
- His tone lingered in the air, almost like the tone of a musical instrument.
- 1891, Edith Wharton, "Mrs. Manstey's View":
- She lingered in the window.
- 2011 April 25, Alice Park, "Upgrading the Disaster," Time:
- It takes into account . . . predictions of how long radioactive contaminants will linger in the soil and water near the nuclear facility.
- 2016 January 30, "Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Nomination," The New York Times (retrieved 30 January 2016):
- Mrs. Clinton’s main opponent, Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described Democratic Socialist, has proved to be more formidable than most people, including Mrs. Clinton, anticipated. He has brought income inequality and the lingering pain of the middle class to center stage and pushed Mrs. Clinton a bit more to the left than she might have gone on economic issues.
- 1859, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, ch. 15:
- (intransitive) To remain alive or existent although still proceeding toward death or extinction; to die gradually.
- 1887, Thomas Hardy, The Woodlanders, ch. 14:
- He lingered through the day, and died that evening as the sun went down.
- 1904, Andrew Lang, "Asmund and Signy" in The Brown Fairy Book:
- During his absence the queen fell ill, and after lingering for some time she died.
- 1887, Thomas Hardy, The Woodlanders, ch. 14:
- (intransitive, often followed by on) To consider or contemplate for a period of time; to engage in analytic thinking or discussion.
- 2011 April 14, Michael Scherer, "Trump's Political Reality Show: Will the Donald Really Run for President?," Time:
- Trump doesn't linger on the poll.
- 2011 April 14, Michael Scherer, "Trump's Political Reality Show: Will the Donald Really Run for President?," Time:
Derived terms
Terms derived from linger
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Translations
to stay or remain in a place or situation
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to remain alive or existent
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to consider or contemplate