1
as in to delay
to move or act slowly
if you continue to dawdle, we'll be late for sure
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to lazy
to spend time doing nothing
accused the city council of dawdling even as the crime rate was spiraling out of control
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dawdle
Instead, season three of The White Lotus dawdles too long, trying to save too much of the good stuff for the end.
—
Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2025
Past Republican presidents were content to dawdle on tax cuts and entitlement reform, but Trump, understanding that the values of America are communicated through its art and entertainment, has instead sought to impose his fairly common and generally decent tastes on popular culture.
—Peter Tonguette, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 14 Mar. 2025
Players dawdled on the ball in key moments, hesitant to make mistakes.
—Carl Anka, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Skelly secured the Obama Administration’s commitment to buy his energy, but in the course of a decade the project slowly collapsed, as state powers dawdled and eventually refused to issue the necessary permits.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dawdle
Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2025
Past Republican presidents were content to dawdle on tax cuts and entitlement reform, but Trump, understanding that the values of America are communicated through its art and entertainment, has instead sought to impose his fairly common and generally decent tastes on popular culture.
—Peter Tonguette, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 14 Mar. 2025
Players dawdled on the ball in key moments, hesitant to make mistakes.
—Carl Anka, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Skelly secured the Obama Administration’s commitment to buy his energy, but in the course of a decade the project slowly collapsed, as state powers dawdled and eventually refused to issue the necessary permits.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dawdle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dawdle
Verb
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Thunderstorms delayed Thursday's opening round, softening the greens and testing the pros.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Aug. 2025
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Financial Narrative Control: In one case that stood out, a retailer’s communications team, reporting to the CFO, delayed announcing a new technology partnership for a year to better align with the company's financial narrative.—
Kiri Masters,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Debt from a 2018 restructuring lingered and mall traffic, especially in secondary locations, continued to decline.—
Kate Hardcastle,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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Even as Andrew James McGann sits in jail accused of the ghastly double murder of parents on a hike at a state park in the Ozark Mountains, key questions linger about the motive.—
Alisha Ebrahimji,
CNN Money,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Make your way up to the college town of New Paltz and eat, shop, stroll and experience some of the most vivid, colorful foliage the East coast has to offer.—
Josh Max,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Shop and stroll Pier Park’s open-air district, where flagship stores mingle with unique boutiques, live entertainment, and waterfront dining.—
Carrie Honaker,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Adam crawls along the floor, left, about to put his finger in an electrical outlet, right, while his baby watches from afar.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Aug. 2025
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This setup enabled the robots to crawl using sequential contractions and relaxation—much like a caterpillar.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
12 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Reduce vehicle trips and vehicle idling as much as possible.—
Matthew Robinson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Aug. 2025
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Just beyond the beach, dusty trails snake through pine-scented forest—while sleek sailboats idle offshore, their gleaming hulls casting lazy, flickering shadows on the sandy sea floor.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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In doing so, the currents drag swimmers out into open waters.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
16 Aug. 2025
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One person would hold the rod and drag ashore a thrashing, 200-pound sawfish.—
Jack Prator,
The Orlando Sentinel,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
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In addition to just nine bungalows, Playa Grande Beach Club has a main house with a restaurant and bar, a two-story library and lounge, a beachfront pool with a covered lounge area for lazing, and a small gym.—
Carley Rojas Ávila,
Forbes.com,
18 July 2025
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The Post-Flight ’Fit The key to looking fresh upon arrival lies in sartorial savvy; that is, choosing an outfit that’s optimally designed for a day of sight-seeing and lazing on sunny terraces, but in actuality is comprised of surprisingly comfortable staples.—
Elly Leavitt,
Vogue,
17 July 2025
Verb
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Apart from at the very top of the tree, which presumably pokes through Florentino Perez’s office window at Real Madrid, there are no solutions, only trade-offs.—
Mark Critchley,
New York Times,
18 Aug. 2025
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Gavin Newsom continues to mock Trump on 'Bela' The California governor's office has taken to mimicking Trump's social media style in posts trolling the president and generally poking fun at Republicans online.—
Kinsey Crowley,
USA Today,
18 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dawdle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dawdle. Accessed 26 Aug. 2025.
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