| Library / English Dictionary |
CLENCHED
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Closed or squeezed together tightly
Example:
his clenched (or clinched) teeth
Synonyms:
clenched; clinched
Classified under:
Similar:
tight (closely constrained or constricted or constricting)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
Past simple / past participle of the verb clench
Context examples:
"But—" she began vehemently, then clenched her hands and stopped.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
Amidst this sordid scene, sat a man with his clenched hands resting on his knees, and his eyes bent on the ground.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
Holmes shook his clenched hands in the air.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
If you say you love him, I know I shall do something desperate; and he looked as if he would keep his word, as he clenched his hands with a wrathful spark in his eyes.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
When a moment later I saw your eyes wander away from the picture, I suspected that your mind had now turned to the Civil War, and when I observed that your lips set, your eyes sparkled, and your hands clenched I was positive that you were indeed thinking of the gallantry which was shown by both sides in that desperate struggle.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Sinking on the stones, she took some in each hand, and clenched them up, as if she would have ground them.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
I glanced back at the coach, and I saw Lady Lade, with her savage little white teeth clenched together, throw herself forward and tug with both hands at the off-side reins.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
When he moved it moved, and he growled at it through his clenched jaws; when he remained still, it remained still, and he concluded it was safer to continue remaining still.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
The others gave back, and gathered in a half circle round the open door, gnashing their teeth and shaking their clenched hands at the defenders.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
He closed the door behind him, and then he stood with clenched hands and heaving breast, choking down some overmastering emotion.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
