clinging

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of cling.

   The ivy was clinging to the old stone wall, leaving green marks on the surface.

   Soaked sailors kept clinging to the overturned hull until dawn.

   Note

   One spelling does two grammatical jobs. In "was clinging" it marks an action in progress, and in "clinging to the past is tiring" it names the act and serves as a subject. It carries every meaning of cling, from fabric following the body's contours to the transitive sense of causing something to wither, so context must decide. It usually takes to, as in clinging to the hull or to a hope.

2. 2
   adjective

   Tending to hold on tightly, or wanting constant closeness and attention from another person.

   The clinging vine had wrapped itself around every post on the porch.

   Her clinging manner made the new colleagues feel crowded at first.

   Similarclingy, needy, possessive, dependent

   Oppositeindependent, aloof

   Note

   Unlike the participle, the adjective takes degree, so something can be very clinging or more clinging. That makes a handy test for telling the two apart. Its range is wide. Ludovic Halévy's Parisian Points of View (1894) uses it of a dress that only a good figure can carry off, and John Bowlby's Attachment (2008) uses it of a child growing more dependent. The History of Analytical Chemistry (2016) applies it even to a metal.

3. 3
   noununcountable

   The act of holding fast to someone or something, refusing to let go.

   His desperate clinging to old habits held back the whole team.

   The child's tearful clinging at the gate delayed the school bus.

   Similaradherence, attachment

   Note

   Unlike the bare gerund of the verb form, the full noun can be counted and made plural as clingings. The plural suits the vocabulary of Buddhist ethics. The Encyclopedia of Ethics (2013) pairs "erroneous thoughts and clingings" as forms of attachment that obscure the Buddha-nature, the way clouds obscure the sun. In that usage a clinging is a habit of mind, not a grip of the hand.

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