as in leisurely
moving or proceeding at less than the normal, desirable, or required speed
the dallying diners seemed oblivious to the fact that other customers were impatiently waiting for tables
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in loafing
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
1
as in playing
to engage in activity for amusement
he spent his college years dallying, seemingly determined to acquire as little knowledge as possible
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in delaying
to move or act slowly
don't dally on the way to the interview
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in flirting
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 dawdling
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
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 dallying
Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2026
Verb
Eventually, even the film itself seems over all of the dilly-dallying.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dallying
Adjective
-
Start the day with grab-and-go breakfast tacos and end it with a leisurely dinner of Wagyu beef fajitas or the Dandy Don, an enchilada sampler made with locally famous La Norteña tortillas.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 May 2026
-
Its activewear combines fitness, sports with the leisurely surf style.—
Ella Gonzales
May 4,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
The researchers concluded that at least one of the keys to preventing social loafing is restoring individual responsibility within a group.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Thanks for playing — and share your scores in the comments!—
Mark Cooper,
New York Times,
7 May 2026
-
Paul and Barlow spent several minutes in the second half playing in the frontcourt, giving Nurse options to switch seamlessly while playing small when other Sixers bigs dealt with foul trouble.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
San Diego is delaying most impacts of a new state law that requires cities to allow high-rise housing near trolley stations and major bus stops — but questions persist about how many bus stops the new law will affect.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 May 2026
-
Yamaha’s plant shut down due to Covid-19, delaying TCW’s ability to retrieve and return the equipment in the allotted time, but Evergreen still charged the fees.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
The White Sox were flirting with first place in the American League Central on Tuesday, trailing the Cleveland Guardians by a half-game.—
Jeff Vorva,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
-
All this league flirting and dealmaking with streaming services is under scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice to determine if the league is violating its antitrust exemption.—
Armando Salguero OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
Further, there’s no excuse for Congress to continue dawdling on farm policy.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Aug. 2025
-
Faster pit stops could also help unlock sales for electric two-wheelers, which have been slow to catch on due to dawdling charge times and limited riding range.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Mar. 2023
Adjective
-
But so far, progress has been slow — if not nonexistent.—
Audrey Pachuta,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
-
Russia’s bigger and better-equipped army has been engaged in a slow, hard slog in Ukraine.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
The pup, named Eba, appeared immune to being rushed and trotted behind at the farthest extent of her leash, tongue lolling, black eyes squinting in the afternoon sun.—
Kelso Harper,
Scientific American,
16 Dec. 2025
-
After a few days of snorkeling and beach-lolling, the view from our helicopter transfer to the Miavana resort on the island of Nosy Ankao just off Madagascar’s northeast, painted an alarmingly different picture.—
Chris Schalkx,
Vogue,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dallying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dallying. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
