1
as in delayed
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
2
as in lazied
to spend time doing nothing
accused the city council of dawdling even as the crime rate was spiraling out of control
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dawdled
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
Fava snuffled and dawdled and took her own sweet time up the sidewalk.
—Dan Kois, New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2025
Thomas Black, Twin Cities, 21 Dec. 2025
Fava snuffled and dawdled and took her own sweet time up the sidewalk.
—Dan Kois, New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dawdled
Verb
-
The first hearing for Campillo’s new proposal was delayed from November because the Rules Committee fell short of a quorum before the proposal could be debated.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Federal agencies halted overdose-surveillance networks, delayed youth smoking data, scaled back food-safety pathogen monitoring and purged transgender health information from websites.—
Mike Stobbe,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The crowd of students that had flooded into Klyde Warren Park was gradually dispersing; some returned to the classroom and others lingered around the greenery.—
Jessica Ma,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
The Twin Earth, from Jaio Studios, lingered in the memory with its stylistic animation about the discovery of another, happier Earth.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Over at the three tiers of pools during a late spring weekend visit, couples in stylish swimsuits lounged around the adult’s only pool, groups of friends sipped margs while wading in the main Mother-of-Pearl pool, and kids frolicked in the separate splash pad area.—
Lizbeth Scordo,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Jan. 2026
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In a series of photos, Lopez lounged in a strapless lilac number featuring a floor-length skirt that looked as if it were made of flower petals.—
Hannah Malach,
InStyle,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Russian soldiers twice threatened to kill him, including an instance where he and a friend were dragged off the street by soldiers.—
Yuras Karmanau,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
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If your suitcase is also looking a little worse for wear after being dragged through snowy sidewalks all winter, now is a good time to invest in new luggage.—
Sophie Dodd,
Travel + Leisure,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Chinese street fairs in Moscow People sampled Chinese cuisine from stalls and strolled along snowy streets decorated with red lanterns and dragons as two weeks of events got underway Monday at various venues in the Russian capital.—
Ken Moritsugu,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Feb. 2026
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People sampled Chinese cuisine from stalls and strolled along snowy streets decorated with red lanterns and dragons as two weeks of events got underway Monday at various venues in the Russian capital.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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After two hours in their second pass, a large object crawled across the screen of Ehorn's Klein side-scan sonar.—
Jalen Williams,
Freep.com,
16 Feb. 2026
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One live roach crawled on the floor in front of a storage rack with seasoning and cans.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Further on, sandy-colored cows lazed in the mid-morning sun.—
Sarah Henry,
AZCentral.com,
18 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Loamy soil keeps its shape but crumbles easily when poked.—
Nadia Hassani,
The Spruce,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The sheet cake is poked with the handle end of a wooden spoon, creating big holes into which the lemon Jell-o (the glaze) was poured.—
Carolynn Carreño,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dawdled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dawdled. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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