dally

dal·ly

intransitive verb \ˈda-lē\

dal·lieddal·ly·ing

Definition of DALLY

1

a : to act playfully; especially : to play amorously

b : to deal lightly : toy <accused him of dallying with a serious problem>

2

a : to waste time

b : linger, dawdle

— dal·li·er noun

Examples of DALLY

1. Please don't dally. We need you here right away.
2. The two of us dallied over our coffee that morning.

Origin of DALLY

Middle English dalyen, from Anglo-French dalier

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to DALLY

Synonyms

play, disport, frolic, recreate, rollick, skylark, sport, toy

Antonyms

barrel, bolt, career, course, dash, fly, hasten, hotfoot (it), hurry, race, rip, rocket, run, rush, scoot, scud, scurry, speed, tear, whirl, whisk, whiz (or whizz), zip

Related Words

cavort, frisk, gambol, romp; dabble, trifle; amuse, divert, entertain; delight, please; dabble, fiddle (around), mess around, putter (around); bum (around), dawdle, goldbrick, hang, hang about [British], idle, loaf, lounge (around or about), relax, rest, screw around, slack (off); jest, joke, tease

Near Antonyms

drudge, labor, plod, plug (away), slave, strain, strive, struggle, sweat, toil, work

See Synonym Discussion at trifle, delay

Rhymes with DALLY

alley, bally, challis, galley, gally, mallee, pally, rally, sally, Schally, tally, valley