Clingiest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Showing a strong tendency to hold on tightly or stay very close to something or someone
2. Having a persistent habit of remaining attached or closely linked physically or emotionally
3. Exhibiting a firm or inseparable attachment, often unwilling to let go or move away

Etymology: "Clingiest" is the superlative of "clingy," so its history is that of its base word plus a suffix. "Cling" goes back to Old English "clingan," a verb meaning to shrivel or contract, and it came to mean holding fast to something only later. The sense of shrinking or contracting survives in the older meaning of "clung" as shrunken or withered, a reminder that the verb once described a tightening rather than an embrace. The adjective ending comes from Old English "-iġ," which turned nouns and verbs into adjectives meaning "full of" or "having the quality of." It arrived in Middle English as "-y," the same suffix found in "bloody," "sleepy," and "messy." Adding "-y" to "cling" produced "clingy," and the regular superlative ending "-est" completes the form.

Synonyms: most clingy

Antonyms: most independent, detached