DAWDLE Synonyms: 144 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'dawdle' different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of dawdle are dally , delay , lag , loiter , and procrastinate . While all these words mean "to move or act slowly so as to fall behind," loiter and dawdle imply delay while in progress, especially in walking, but dawdle more clearly suggests an aimless wasting of time. // loitered at several store windows // children dawdling on their way home from school

Q: Where would 'dally' be a reasonable alternative to 'dawdle'?

The words dally and dawdle can be used in similar contexts, but dally suggests delay through trifling or vacillation when promptness is necessary. // stop dallying and get to work

Q: When might 'delay' be a better fit than 'dawdle'?

The meanings of delay and dawdle largely overlap; however, delay usually implies a putting off of something (such as a beginning or departure). // we cannot delay any longer

Q: In what contexts can 'lag' take the place of 'dawdle'?

While in some cases nearly identical to dawdle , lag implies failure to maintain a speed set by others. // lagging behind in technology

Q: When is 'procrastinate' a more appropriate choice than 'dawdle'?

The synonyms procrastinate and dawdle are sometimes interchangeable, but procrastinate implies blameworthy delay especially through laziness or apathy. // procrastinates about making decisions

dawdle

verb

ˈdȯ-dᵊl

Definition of dawdle

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

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word dawdle different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of dawdle are dally, delay, lag, loiter, and procrastinate. While all these words mean "to move or act slowly so as to fall behind," loiter and dawdle imply delay while in progress, especially in walking, but dawdle more clearly suggests an aimless wasting of time.

loitered at several store windows

children dawdling on their way home from school

Where would dally be a reasonable alternative to dawdle?

The words dally and dawdle can be used in similar contexts, but dally suggests delay through trifling or vacillation when promptness is necessary.

stop dallying and get to work

When might delay be a better fit than dawdle?

The meanings of delay and dawdle largely overlap; however, delay usually implies a putting off of something (such as a beginning or departure).

we cannot delay any longer

In what contexts can lag take the place of dawdle?

While in some cases nearly identical to dawdle, lag implies failure to maintain a speed set by others.

lagging behind in technology

When is procrastinate a more appropriate choice than dawdle?

The synonyms procrastinate and dawdle are sometimes interchangeable, but procrastinate implies blameworthy delay especially through laziness or apathy.

procrastinates about making decisions

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 dawdle But Koreeda dawdles over all that without ever finding much dramatic nuance, making for a dullish midsection. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026 Patriots owner Robert Kraft didn’t dawdle last winter after the Patriots went 4-13 with Maye as their main QB. — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Jan. 2026 Flight attendants turned into drill sergeants, barking at passengers who flouted mask rules or dawdled too long eating that snack with the mask off. — Thomas Black, Twin Cities, 21 Dec. 2025 My request to ownership is don’t dawdle. — Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 19 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for dawdle

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dawdle

Verb

At least 75 data center projects worth more than $130 billion total were delayed or cancelled in the first three months of this year, according to a Data Center Watch report published in June.

— Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2026
By the time the architectural plans were finished, COVID hit, and Hotel Lucile was further delayed.

— Mickey Rapkin, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of delay

Verb

Others idled at the edge of the firelight while the red lights of a surveillance blimp blinked over the mountains to the east.

— Ryan Devereaux, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2026
But every watt lost to idle draw while a cooler cycles, or to low-power conversion while a light stays on, is energy already paid for and carried, but never used.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of idle

Verb

Wallace lingered in the car for a few minutes once slowing to a stop, though — long enough for health workers to unload a stretcher that Wallace ultimately didn’t use.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 11 Oct. 2026
While Beverly Hills and West Hollywood bounced back after the pandemic, Santa Monica continues to struggle with retail vacancies and lingering economic woes.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of linger

Verb

The colony also has a population of New Zealand fur seals that laze around the rocks frequented by flocks of seabirds.

— Todd Symons, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
The pigs that would soon enough become lunch lazed in the compost-pile mud in front of a five-star-hotel-worthy view of the Cretan Sea.

— Shannon McMahon, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 July 2026

Definition of laze

Verb

Researchers have developed a paper-thin foot membrane that lets crawling microrobots harvest electricity directly from the ground beneath them, ditching heavy onboard batteries by turning metal and silicon surfaces into an active power source.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 8 Oct. 2026
In real-world tests, the hand crawled across 14 different surfaces including smooth floors, metal grates, grass, and gravel.

— Edd Gent, IEEE Spectrum, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of crawl

Verb

Once normal breathing resumes, parasympathetic influence increases, and the body relaxes big time.

— Jessica Sulima, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Oct. 2026
The canal sparkled gray-green in the sunlight and on the opposite bank, people walked their dogs and relaxed on benches along 365’s esplanade.

— Kim Velsey, Curbed, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of relax

Verb

Dozens of locations in the central and southern US will soar to record high temperatures on Tuesday, but the incoming front will drag those highs down by more than 30 degrees in many locales by Friday or Saturday.

— Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
As the comet rotates, fresh ice enters the sunlight and sublimates; the escaping gas then drags entrained dust particles away from the nucleus.

— Joe Rao, Space.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of drag

Verb

The joy Lisa has with her RHUGT cast compared with the dread her RHOSLC cast seems to bring her really bums me out — especially because of how much of this trip is championing the sisterhood of Housewives.

— Tom Smyth, Vulture, 31 Aug. 2026
My conversation partner returned, somehow unable to bum even a single cigarette from anyone at this party.

— Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 29 July 2026

Definition of bum

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“Dawdle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dawdle. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of dawdle

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