The meaning of LINGER is to be slow in parting or in quitting something : tarry. How to use linger in a sentence.
When someone lingers, he or she takes an unexpectedly long time to depart, as Romeo lingers when bidding Juliet farewell (or as annoying houseguests almost always tend to do).
When something such as an idea, feeling, or illness lingers, it continues to exist for a long time, often much longer than expected. The scent of her perfume lingered on in the room.
Definition of linger verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
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.
Derived forms: lingering, lingers, lingered Type of: balk, baulk [Brit], go away, go forth, hesitate, leave, move, off [informal], remain, stay, stay put, stick, stick around, waffle [N. Amer, informal], wait, waver
The word "lingers" is a verb that generally refers to the act of remaining in a place longer than is usual or expected. It suggests a sense of hesitation, delay, or reluctance to leave or move on from a certain situation, environment, or emotional state.
Similar changes in meaning can be achieved in spoken forms of most languages by using elements of speech such as suprasegmentals. The rules of punctuation vary with the language, location, register, and time. In online chat and text messages, punctuation is used tachygraphically, especially among younger users.