Meanings
comparative clingier · superlative clingiest
- Having a tendency to cling.
a clingy minidress
1 more example
I conceded I might have slightly mollified if it had been Wendy Rieger in that clingy leopard skin blouse she wears on Channel 4.
2003, Tony Kornheiser, I'm Back for More Cash (Because You Can't Take Two Hundred Newspapers into the Bathroom), page 255 - derogatoryinformalusuallyAttached to, or possessive of someone, usually a significant other.
Near-synonym: needy
1 more example
a clingy ex-girlfriend who won't stop calling
Synonyms: needy, overattached
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveAttached to, or possessive of someone, usually a significant other.
all
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveexcessively emotional and attached
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Bulgarian прилепнал
- прилепнал (prilepnal)having a tendency to cling
Catalan cosó, apegalós
- cosópossessive over another person
- apegalóspossessive over another person
Chinese Mandarin 纏人的 /缠人的
- 纏人的 /缠人的 (chánrén de)possessive over another person
Czech přiléhavý, přilnavý
- přiléhavýhaving a tendency to cling
- přilnavýhaving a tendency to cling
- těsnýhaving a tendency to cling
- závislýpossessive over another person
- citově vázanýpossessive over another person
Finnish ihonmyötäinen, vartalonmukainen
- ihonmyötäinenhaving a tendency to cling
- vartalonmukainenhaving a tendency to cling
- takertuvapossessive over another person
French collant, collant
- collanthaving a tendency to cling
- collantpossessive over another person
German anhänglich, anhaftend
- anhänglichhaving a tendency to cling
- anhaftendhaving a tendency to cling
- anhänglichpossessive over another person
- klammerndpossessive over another person
- possessivpossessive over another person
Hungarian tapadós, ragadós
- tapadóshaving a tendency to cling
- ragadóshaving a tendency to cling
- ragaszkodópossessive over another person
- csüngőpossessive over another person
- csüggeszkedőpossessive over another person
- csimpaszkodópossessive over another person
- kisajátítópossessive over another person
- bújóspossessive over another person
Polish przylepny
- przylepnyhaving a tendency to cling
Russian ли́пкий, це́пкий
- ли́пкий (lípkij)having a tendency to cling
- це́пкий (cépkij)having a tendency to cling
- назо́йливый (nazójlivyj)possessive over another person
- навя́зчивый (navjázčivyj)possessive over another person
- привя́зчивый (privjázčivyj)possessive over another person
Spanish encimoso, lapa
- encimosopossessive over another person
- lapapossessive over another person
- falderopossessive over another person
- dipepossessive over another person
Swedish klängig
- klängighaving a tendency to cling
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with clingy
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
clingy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clingy
“clingy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clingy. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “clingy,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clingy.
Source: clingy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.