1
as in plays
to engage in activity for amusement
he spent his college years dallying, seemingly determined to acquire as little knowledge as possible
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lingers
to move or act slowly
don't dally on the way to the interview
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in flirts
to show a sexual attraction for someone just for fun
she spent the summer dallying with a guy renting the neighboring beach house
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in lazes
to spend time doing nothing
I kept dallying at my desk until I couldn't put off doing my work any longer
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dallies
Verb
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As Cuenca plays a ball to the feet of his striker, Wilson dashes in the other direction, delaying Ibrahima Konate’s forward jump because the centre-back knows Bradley is unable to track both him and Robinson at the same time.—
Ahmed Walid,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026 -
In the dark romantic comedy-drama, True Blood alum Skarsgård, 49, plays tough biker Ray, who enters into a dominant-submissive relationship with Colin (Melling), a shy and directionless man who sings in a barbershop quartet.—
Eric Andersson,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Today the sprawling complex is a museum and visitor attraction, where a sense of unease lurks along paved tourist trails and lingers in dark corridors.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
10 Jan. 2026
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Early next week, a brief warmup returns highs to the 30s before cooler air likely lingers deeper into mid-January.—
Joseph Dames,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Mark briefly flirts with manosphere-style aggrievement, but anger doesn’t suit him.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
4 Jan. 2026
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Reeves flirts with Michael Douglas territory in this Eli Roth erotic thriller that’s not especially good but is interesting as an acting exercise.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Iwobi’s movement drags Ladislav Krejci wider, increasing the space between the lines and creating a clear passing angle for Calvin Bassey.—
Ahmed Walid,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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This not-quite-title song, which is nearly eight minutes long, is a sort of mini-suite, opening with a dog barking, giving way to an acoustic-guitar melody accompanying polyphonic vocals, then becoming electric and crashingly alive, until the relentless screech of a guitar drags you to the end.—
Hanif Abdurraqib,
New Yorker,
18 Dec. 2025
Verb
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But while the new movie dawdles on its way to Toxie’s origins, then rushes toward a finale with a lurching rhythm that verges on calculated ineptitude, its spirit never feels inauthentic.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Department officials later told her in texts and emails that delays completing the more detailed review of Rochelle’s home were her fault.—
Jayme Fraser,
USA Today,
30 Oct. 2025
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But that was before the arrival of teplizumab, a monoclonal antibody approved in late 2022 that delays the advance of the illness and may even halt it at stage 2 in some people.—
Tara Haelle,
Scientific American,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As your car idles, warm air blown from the top of your dashboard will melt the ice on the outside of the windshield.—
Meghan Overdeep,
Southern Living,
27 Dec. 2025
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Security camera footage shows a black vehicle park in front of Café Bernardo, a restaurant, and idles for about two minutes.—
Madisen Keavy,
CBS News,
17 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Since the holidays, many of us have spent winter days cooped up inside, shuttling between work, school and home while the calendar crawls toward spring.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Jan. 2026
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In Elf, while Santa (the late Ed Asner) is setting out toys at an orphanage on Christmas Eve, Buddy (Will Ferrell) crawls into his sack.—
Victoria Edel,
PEOPLE,
23 Dec. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Dallies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dallies. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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