clutchings
Tight holding onto
Clutchings are instances of grasping or gripping tightly, often with desperation or urgency.
The word appears most in literary or dramatic contexts describing physical or emotional grasping: the clutchings of a drowning man, her futile clutchings at the railing.
It can also describe metaphorical grasping: his clutchings at power as his influence waned.
State without hope
- despairTotal absence of hope
- helplessnessLacking ability to cope
- crisisDecisive dangerous moment
- urgencyPressing need for action
frantic · distress · anguish · struggle · grasping · reaching · flailing · clinging
Seize or understand
- holdMaintain in grasp
- clenchSqueeze tightly shut
- claspSecuring device that clicks
- seizeTake suddenly, forcibly
snatch · squeeze · tighten · fingers · fist · knuckles · palms · hands
Excessive accumulation of goods
- jealousyResentful desire for another's advantages
- covetousEagerly wanting others' possessions
- greedExcessive desire for wealth
- attachmentConnection or fondness
clinging · grasping · territorial · guarding · protectiveness · unwillingness · refusal · tight-fisted
Uncontrollable sudden fear
- fearEmotional response to threat
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- apprehensionNervous anticipation of trouble
- nervousnessState of anxious unease
trepidation · worry · stress · tension · unease · angst · jitters · edginess
Protection from threat
- reassuranceWords meant to calm
- safekeepingProtective care of possessions
- protectionGuarding against harm
- refugePlace of safety
clinging · hugging · embracing · teddy bear · blanket · keepsake · talisman · memento
hopelessness
State without hope
- despairTotal absence of hope
- helplessnessLacking ability to cope
- crisisDecisive dangerous moment
urgency · frantic · distress · anguish · struggle · grasping · reaching · flailing · clinging · scrambling
grasp
Seize or understand
seize · snatch · squeeze · tighten · fingers · fist · knuckles · palms · hands · wrists
hoarding
Excessive accumulation of goods
- jealousyResentful desire for another's advantages
- covetousEagerly wanting others' possessions
- greedExcessive desire for wealth
attachment · clinging · grasping · territorial · guarding · protectiveness · unwillingness · refusal · tight-fisted · acquisitive
panic
Uncontrollable sudden fear
- fearEmotional response to threat
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- apprehensionNervous anticipation of trouble
nervousness · trepidation · worry · stress · tension · unease · angst · jitters · edginess · disquiet
security
Protection from threat
- reassuranceWords meant to calm
- safekeepingProtective care of possessions
- protectionGuarding against harm
refuge · clinging · hugging · embracing · teddy bear · blanket · keepsake · talisman · memento · cherishing
clutchingsdroppings
Animal excrement deposits
unhanding · freeing · opening · loosening · liberating
clutchingssurrenderings
Acts of yielding control
renunciations · giving up · discarding · casting off · letting loose
- pearl clutchingPerformative moral shock
- clutching pearlsPerformative dismay gesture
- clutching one's pearlsAffected shock at impropriety
- double clutchingTwo-pedal gear synchronization method