Word.ws English Dictionary

clutching one's pearls

clutching one's pearls is the present participle and gerund of clutch one's pearls.

Meaning of clutch one's pearls

Verb

clutch one's pearls (third-person singular simple present clutches one's pearls, present participle clutching one's pearls, simple past and past participle clutched one's pearls)

  1. To react with consternation to someone or something that violates the usual norms.
    • Of course, you can't say any of this out loud, or people will clutch their pearls and call you a monster.2013, Michelle Hodkin, The Evolution of Mara Dyer

Questions about clutching one's pearls

What is clutching one's pearls the present participle and gerund of?
Clutching one's pearls is the present participle and gerund of clutch one's pearls.

Words near clutching one's pearls in the dictionary

  1. clutches
  2. clutches one's pearls
  3. clutchfist
  4. clutchfists
  5. clutching
  6. clutching one's pearls
  7. clutchingly
  8. clutchings
  9. clutchless
  10. clutchless manual transmission
  11. clutchless manual transmissions

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: clutching one's pearls (page history and authors); clutch one's pearls (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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