clingy

English

Etymology

From cling +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈklɪŋi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪŋi

Adjective

clingy (comparative clingier, superlative clingiest)

1. Having a tendency to cling.

   a clingy minidress

   • 2003, Tony Kornheiser, I'm Back for More Cash (Because You Can't Take Two Hundred Newspapers into the Bathroom)‎^[1], page 255:

     I conceded I might have slightly mollified if it had been Wendy Rieger in that clingy leopard skin blouse she wears on Channel 4.

2. (informal, usually derogatory) Pathetically attached to, or possessive of someone, usually a significant other.

   a clingy ex-girlfriend who won't stop calling

Synonyms

• (all): clinging
• (having a tendency to cling): See also Thesaurus:adhesive or Thesaurus:close-fitting
• (possessive over a lover): overattached

Derived terms

• clingily
• clinginess
• unclingy

 

Translations

having a tendency to cling

• Bulgarian: прилепнал (bg) (prilepnal)
• Finnish: ihonmyötäinen, vartalonmukainen
• French: collant (fr) m, collante (fr) f
• German: anhänglich (de) (person or aninmal), anhaftend (de) (object)
• Hungarian: tapadós (hu), ragadós (hu)
• Macedonian: ле́плив (lépliv)
• Polish: przylepny m
• Russian: ли́пкий (ru) (lípkij), це́пкий (ru) (cépkij)
• Spanish: pegajoso (es)
• Swedish: klängig

possessive over another person

• Catalan: cosó, apegalós (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 缠人的

• Finnish: takertuva
• French: collant (fr) m, collante (fr) f
• German: anhänglich (de), klammernd (de), possessiv (de)
• Hungarian: ragaszkodó (hu), csüngő (hu), csüggeszkedő, csimpaszkodó, kisajátító (hu), (a child to his/her mom) bújós
• Macedonian: на́метлив (námetliv), при́врзан (prívrzan)
• Russian: назо́йливый (ru) (nazójlivyj), навя́зчивый (ru) (navjázčivyj), привя́зчивый (ru) (privjázčivyj)
• Spanish: posesivo (es), celoso (es), pegajoso (es) m, pegadizo (es) m, encimoso m (Mexico), lapa (es) f ((noun, used in the expression "ser una lapa")), pegachento m

Anagrams

• clying, glycin