lingered

Lingered is the past tense and past participle of the verb linger. It denotes staying in a place longer than is necessary or expected, typically due to reluctance to leave, curiosity, or unfinished business. It can also describe something that continues to exist, persist, or be perceptible after the source has gone.

Usage: Used for people or objects that remain, such as “She lingered at the doorway,” or for nonphysical persistence, such as “The smell lingered in the room” or “A doubt lingered.” The sense often carries a nuance of hesitation, melancholy, or slow departure. In narrative writing, lingered can help create atmosphere or emphasize emotional weight.

Grammatical notes: Lingered is intransitive and commonly takes prepositional phrases like in, around, or on to indicate where the staying occurs. The related adjective lingering describes the duration or persistence of the sense of lingering. The form appears across tenses through standard conjugation and is frequently used in literature, journalism, and everyday prose to convey delay, memory, or subtle persistence.

See also: linger, lingering.