Past tense of linger
regular verb
The past tense of linger is lingered. The past participle is also lingered.
Forms of linger
| Base form (V1) | linger /ˈlɪŋɡɚ/ |
|---|---|
| Past tense (V2) | lingered /ˈlɪŋɡɚd/ |
| Past participle (V3) | lingered /ˈlɪŋɡɚd/ |
| Present participle | lingering /ˈlɪŋɡəɹɪŋ/ |
| Third person singular | lingers |
Lingered in a sentence
- The tornado lingered, tearing through town, leaving nothing upright.From the entry tear
- She was ashamed that her thoughts lingered on a very unvirginlike desire for the absolutely wrong man.2009, Jade Lee, The Concubine, page 81. From the entry unvirginlike
- I stepped inside and the odor of wacky tobaccy lingered in the air.2006, K. J. Larsen, Liar, Liar, Poisoned Pen Press, published 2010, →ISBN, page 144. From the entry wacky tobaccy
- Her eyes lingered on a putrid floral number in fuchsia, hot pink, and turquoise.1998, Karen Kijewski, Stray Kat Waltz. From the entry yipes
- For two years more he lingered, sinking slowly into unconsciousness and imbecility.1921, Lytton Strachey, Queen Victoria. From the entry appositeness
Meaning of linger
- verb To stay or remain in a place or situation, especially as if unwilling to depart or not easily able to do so.
- verb To remain alive or existent although still proceeding toward death or extinction; to die gradually.
- verb To consider or contemplate for a period of time; to engage in analytic thinking or discussion.
Questions about the past tense of linger
- What is the past tense of linger?
- The past tense of linger is lingered.
- What is the past participle of linger?
- The past participle of linger is lingered.
- Is linger a regular or irregular verb?
- Linger is a regular verb: its past tense adds -ed.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: linger (page history and authors) and the entries of its forms. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws left out forms marked obsolete, archaic, rare or dialectal and added the examples. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Past tense of linger.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/past-tense/linger. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.