4 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
linger
verb
1: remain present although waning or gradually dying; "Her
perfume lingered on"
2: be about; "The high school students like to loiter in the
Central Square"; "Who is this man that is hanging around
the department?" [syn: {loiter}, {lounge}, {footle}, {lollygag},
{loaf}, {lallygag}, {hang around}, {mess about}, {tarry},
{lurk}, {mill about}, {mill around}]
3: leave slowly and hesitantly [syn: {tarry}]
4: take one's time; proceed slowly [syn: {dawdle}] [ant: {rush}]
5: move to and fro; "The shy student lingered in the corner"
[syn: {hover}]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Linger \Lin"ger\ (l[i^][ng]"g[~e]r), verb (used without an object) [imp. & p. p.
{Lingered} (l[i^][ng]"g[~e]rd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Lingering}.]
[OE. lengen to tarry, AS. lengan to prolong, put off, fr.
lang long. [root]125. See {Long}, adjective]
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.
Perhaps thou linger'st, in deep thoughts detained.
--Milton.
Syn: To loiter; lag; saunter; delay; tarry; stop; hesitate.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Linger \Lin"ger\, verb (used with an object)
1. To protract; to draw out. [Obs.]
She lingers my desires. --Shak.
2. To spend or pass in a lingering manner; -- with out; as,
to linger out one's days on a sick bed. --Dryden.
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
87 Moby Thesaurus words for "linger":
abide, amble, await, bide, bide the issue, carry on, cease not,
continue, crawl, creep, dally, dawdle, delay, diddle, dillydally,
dither, doodle, drag, drag along, drag on, drift, dwell on,
elaborate, endure, fall behind, falter, flag, get behind, go along,
go on, goof off, halt, hang about, hang around, hang back, hang on,
harp on, hold everything, hold on, hold steady, hold your horses,
idle, jog on, keep going, keep on, labor, lag, linger behind,
linger on, loiter, lollygag, mark time, mope, mosey, muck,
never cease, pause, persevere, persist, piddle, poke,
procrastinate, put off, remain, run on, shilly-shally, sit tight,
sit up, slog on, stagger on, stay, stay on, stay up, stick around,
straggle, stroll, survive, take time, tarry, temporize, trail,
trail behind, wait, wait a minute, wait and see, waste time,
wear on
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