linger

Intermediatezipf 3.31

Pronunciation

/ˈlɪŋɡər/(LING-gur)

Part of speech

verbneutral

Chinese

逗留；徘徊；持续存在

Definition

To stay in a place longer than necessary; to be slow to disappear or die; to persist.

Word family

  • lingering/ˈlɪŋɡərɪŋ/(adj)持续的

Collocations

  • linger on
  • linger over
  • lingering doubt
  • lingering effects
  • linger in the mind

Examples

  1. 1.The smell of fresh coffee lingered in the kitchen long after she had left for work. (persist)
  2. 2.A lingering doubt remained — had they made the right decision? (continuing)

Synonyms

  • remain/rɪˈmeɪn/— to stay — more neutral
  • persist/pərˈsɪst/— to continue to exist — more formal
  • loiter/ˈlɔɪtər/— to stand around without purpose — more negative

Etymology

from Old English "lengan" (to prolong) — related to "long" — to make something last longer