1
as in to delay
to move or act slowly
if you continue to dawdle, we'll be late for sure
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
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 dawdle
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
Before building a vacuum train tube from L.A. to San Francisco, proponents must succeed with an 8-kilometer test track
Philip E. Ross
18 Dec 2015
8 min read
The Straight Road: Only when dawdling in the city can Hyperloop capsules handle more than a gentle curve.
—IEEE Spectrum, 18 Dec. 2015
See All Example Sentences for dawdle
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
Before building a vacuum train tube from L.A. to San Francisco, proponents must succeed with an 8-kilometer test track
Philip E. Ross
18 Dec 2015
8 min read
The Straight Road: Only when dawdling in the city can Hyperloop capsules handle more than a gentle curve.
—IEEE Spectrum, 18 Dec. 2015
See All Example Sentences for dawdle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dawdle
Verb
-
So far, the administration has ended or delayed nearly 2,500 NIH grants, including some related to researching blood glucose.—
Olga Khazan,
The Atlantic,
19 June 2025
-
Service businesses face real-time cost pressures that cannot be warehoused or delayed.—
Kara Dennison,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
Verb
-
Each time a child left, the emotional toll was unbearable, and the sadness lingered long after they were gone.—
Valerie Mesa,
People.com,
27 June 2025
-
The camera lingers for too long on his pained, Grecian-bust features.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
26 June 2025
Verb
-
Barkov strolled onto the rebound with the nearest Oiler completely unescorted.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
18 June 2025
-
The surrounding streets are a pleasure to stroll, particularly the wide Corso Italia, where families gather around benches under the trees and couples peruse the boutiques’ window displays.—
Rebecca Ann Hughes,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
Verb
-
The next day, at 9:10 p.m., Boelter crawled out of a wooded area and surrendered to law enforcement.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
27 June 2025
-
To make the stakes even higher, Player 39 crawls to the edge after the round ends.—
Jennifer Zhan,
Vulture,
27 June 2025
Verb
-
That new boom idled for a decade until Vladimir Putin created a commodities frenzy by invading Ukraine, one of the world’s most important ag exporters.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
15 June 2025
-
Port roads jammed with diesel trucks, oil refineries processing fuel, ships idling to be unloaded, make for some of the worst air in the state.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
24 May 2025
Verb
-
Tense scenes played out in the chamber as voting came to a standstill, dragging on for hours as holdout senators huddled for negotiations.—
Lisa Mascaro,
Los Angeles Times,
29 June 2025
-
Voting had come to a standstill, dragging for more than three hours, with holdout senators huddling for negotiations and taking private meetings off the Senate floor.—
Ani Freedman,
Fortune,
29 June 2025
Verb
-
Tubers can laze the day away taking in stretches of quiet solitude catching herons, egrets and anhinga perched along stands of bald cypress, and the occasional run of waterfront homes.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
31 May 2025
-
The picturesque Anse de la Fausse Monnaie, a cove along the Corniche Kennedy, the road that wraps along the coast, is an ideal spot for lazing and gazing at the sea.—
Lily Radziemski,
New York Times,
29 May 2025
Verb
-
Cunningham came to the defense of her teammate Clark, retaliating with less than a minute left on the clock after, earlier in the game, the Fever's superstar player was poked in the eye and then knocked to the ground by two separate Sun players.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 June 2025
-
As Clark backed Sheldon down at the top of the key, Sheldon poked Clark in the eye.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
18 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dawdle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dawdle. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share