Linger — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

remain present although waning or gradually dying

be about

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/lˈɪŋɡɚ/

🇬🇧British English

/lˈɪŋɡə/

🇮🇳Indian English

/lˈɪŋɡə/

2 syllables Say it as /lˈɪŋɡɚ/.

Examples

Her perfume lingered on
The high school students like to loiter in the Central Square
Who is this man that is hanging around the department?

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

mill about tarry dawdle mill around footle lollygag mess about loaf lallygag lurk hang around loiter hover lounge

Antonyms

rush

Parts of Speech

verb	remain present although waning or gradually dying “Her perfume lingered on”
verb	be about “The high school students like to loiter in the Central Square”
verb	leave slowly and hesitantly
verb	take one's time; proceed slowly
verb	move to and fro “The shy student lingered in the corner”

Word Forms

loiterer	noun	someone who lingers aimlessly in or about a place
lounger	noun	someone who wastes time
lingerer	noun	someone who lingers aimlessly in or about a place
tarriance	noun	the act of tarrying
dawdler	noun	someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who lags behind

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

verweilen

bleiben bestehen, auch wenn sie abnehmen oder allmählich absterben

🇫🇷French

s'attarder

rester présent bien que décroissant ou mourant progressivement

🇪🇸Spanish

persistir

permanecer presente aunque disminuyendo o muriendo gradualmente

🇮🇹Italian

indugiare

rimanere presenti anche se in declino o morendo gradualmente

🇳🇱Dutch

treuzelen

blijven aanwezig, ook al nemen ze af of sterven ze geleidelijk af

🇵🇹Portuguese

permanecer

permanecem presentes, embora diminuam ou morram gradualmente

🇷🇺Russian

задерживаться

остаются присутствовать, хотя ослабевают или постепенно умирают

India

🇮🇳Hindi

देर तक रहना

घटते हुए या धीरे-धीरे मरते हुए भी मौजूद रहें

🇧🇩Bengali

দীর্ঘস্থায়ী

ক্ষয়প্রাপ্ত বা ধীরে ধীরে মারা গেলেও উপস্থিত থাকুন

🇮🇳Tamil

தாமதிக்கின்றன

குறைந்துவிட்டாலும் அல்லது படிப்படியாக இறந்துவிட்டாலும் இருக்கும்

🇮🇳Telugu

ఆలస్యము చేయుము

క్షీణిస్తున్నప్పటికీ లేదా క్రమంగా చనిపోతున్నప్పటికీ ప్రస్తుతం ఉంటాయి

🇮🇳Marathi

रेंगाळणे

कमी होत असताना किंवा हळूहळू मरत असतानाही उपस्थित रहा

🇮🇳Gujarati

લંબાવું

ક્ષીણ અથવા ધીમે ધીમે મૃત્યુ હોવા છતાં હાજર રહે છે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕಾಲಹರಣ ಮಾಡು

ಕ್ಷೀಣಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಅಥವಾ ಕ್ರಮೇಣ ಸಾಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೂ ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತವಾಗಿ ಉಳಿಯುತ್ತದೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

താമസിക്കുക

ക്ഷയിക്കുകയോ ക്രമേണ മരിക്കുകയോ ചെയ്യുമെങ്കിലും അവിടെ തുടരുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਰੁਕਣਾ

ਮੌਜੂਦ ਰਹਿੰਦੇ ਹਨ ਹਾਲਾਂਕਿ ਘੱਟਦੇ ਜਾ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ ਜਾਂ ਹੌਲੀ ਹੌਲੀ ਮਰ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ

🇵🇰Urdu

دیر

ڈھلنے یا آہستہ آہستہ مرنے کے باوجود موجود رہیں

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

萦绕

尽管减弱或逐渐死亡但仍然存在

🇯🇵Japanese

長引く

衰退するか徐々に消えていくにもかかわらず存在し続ける

🇰🇷Korean

질질 끌게 하다

약해지거나 점차 죽어가는 동안에도 존재함

🇻🇳Vietnamese

nán lại

vẫn hiện diện dù đang suy yếu hoặc chết dần

🇹🇭Thai

อิทธิพล

ยังคงดำรงอยู่แม้จะเสื่อมถอยลงหรือค่อย ๆ ตายไปก็ตาม

🇮🇩Indonesian

masih tertinggal

tetap ada meskipun memudar atau berangsur-angsur mati

🇵🇭Filipino

magtagal

mananatiling naroroon kahit na humihina o unti-unting namamatay

🇲🇾Malay

berlama-lama

kekal hadir walaupun semakin pudar atau beransur-ansur mati

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

باقية

يبقى موجودًا على الرغم من تراجعه أو موته تدريجيًا

🇮🇷Persian

درنگ

حضور داشته باشند، اگرچه رو به زوال یا به تدریج در حال مرگ هستند

🇹🇷Turkish

oyalanmak

azalmasına veya yavaş yavaş ölmesine rağmen mevcut kalmak

🇮🇱Hebrew

לְהִשְׁתַהוֹת

נשארים נוכחים אם כי דועכים או מתים בהדרגה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'linger'?

The primary meaning of 'linger' is 'remain present although waning or gradually dying'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'linger' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'linger' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'linger' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'linger' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'linger' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'linger' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'linger' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'linger' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'linger' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'linger' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted