as in delighting
to take part in an activity in a superficial way
She dabbled in drawing and painting but sculpture was her favorite medium.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
as in entertaining
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dabbling
Alayna Alvarez, Axios, 31 Mar. 2025
Success doesn’t come from dabbling in a dozen different directions.
—Melissa Houston, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025
His father, Jean-Philippe, was a basketball player and after dabbling in basketball and soccer, Fils chose tennis.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2025
Clones are as much a sci-fi staple as robots, spaceships, and time travel, with every major franchise dabbling with duplicates somewhere down the line.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dabbling
Adjective
Thanks to wetland protections, dabbling and diving duck populations have jumped 24% since 1970, while waterbirds are up 16%, per the report.
—Alayna Alvarez, Axios, 31 Mar. 2025
Success doesn’t come from dabbling in a dozen different directions.
—Melissa Houston, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025
His father, Jean-Philippe, was a basketball player and after dabbling in basketball and soccer, Fils chose tennis.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2025
Clones are as much a sci-fi staple as robots, spaceships, and time travel, with every major franchise dabbling with duplicates somewhere down the line.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dabbling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dabbling
Adjective
-
Their black metal frames paired with wood tops are ideal for entertaining and can be used together or separately.—
Jené Luciani Sena
may earn a commission if you buy through our referral links. This content was created by a team that works independently from the Fox newsroom.,
FOXNews.com,
20 June 2025
-
The Inter captain fired over another chance and in an entertaining finish, Nelson Deossa had the chance to win for Monterrey — but shot into the side-netting.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
18 June 2025
Verb
-
Further factions emerge from there, as people start playing the game within the Squid Game, forming pockets of friendships and alliances, real and fake.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
26 Dec. 2024
-
The World Junior tournament is always good for some surprises; a couple of unexpected players emerging as top scorers or playing well in big moments, or a traditional top nation getting upset in the medal round.—
Corey Pronman,
The Athletic,
26 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Dead Snow, though, bearing a poster that’s as good as the actual film, prides itself on its constant assault of goofy violence.—
Daniel Dockery,
Vulture,
18 June 2025
-
Despite the lack of bombast, The Alters tells a compelling and heartfelt narrative, with some goofier moments to break up the unrelenting drama.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
14 June 2025
Adjective
-
Under $25 So many fun fashion finds are on major sale this weekend, like this lightweight henley top and these stretchy bike shorts that are great for workouts or wearing under skirts and dresses to prevent chafing.—
Isabel Garcia,
People.com,
21 June 2025
-
The social media response her post garnered has been fun to be part of, Jones said.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
21 June 2025
Adjective
-
Altman changes his protagonist to a subsistence farmer who watches people have ever more frivolous jobs – less physical work, less concrete roles, more creative noodling and more flexibility.—
John Werner,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
-
Theater talk is some of the most frivolous talk, and it should be shouted from the rooftops.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
20 June 2025
Adjective
-
Sharina Martin is Renee, an editor at the print magazine version of HGTV who buys into the whole Diane experience, professionally and personally, and does it with a sharp amusing stylishness.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
17 June 2025
-
In an amusing send-up of Hollywood's penchant for making reboot characters related to original franchise players, the trailers also introduce children of George Kennedy's Ed Hocken and Simpson's Nordberg, the former of which is played by Paul Water Hauser.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
16 June 2025
Adjective
-
Jeff: This has been such a silly way to seed the in-season tournament.—
Jeff Gluck,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
-
Wishing you a weekend of in-season snacks, silly time with old friends, and political victories of any size.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
20 June 2025
Adjective
-
Frankly, the more trifling the crime, the better this franchise’s comedy aspirations would work.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2025
-
With that much water needed for even the most trifling tasks, the natural question becomes: How does that water reach those data centers, let alone the world’s farms and factories?—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
28 May 2010
Cite this Entry
“Dabbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dabbling. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share