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
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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 trial had been set to start this week but was delayed until next February.—
Jared Gans,
The Hill,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The hearings have been delayed by litigation, though, including over who should prosecute the cases going forward.—
Madeline Buckley,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But Charli’s quote has lingered in my head ever since listening to Jessie Ware’s dead-on-arrival sixth record, Superbloom.—
Harry Tafoya,
Pitchfork,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Elements of western also lingered.—
Angela Velasquez,
Footwear News,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Nearby, people and their dogs who had moved into the shelter for the duration of the war lounged on air mattresses, scrolling through their phones.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Just days after hard-launching her relationship with French filmmaker Romain Gavras, EmRata lounged in a plunging plush white robe while wearing nothing but some sparkling loud luxury accessories.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The officer grabbed me and said 'you're arrested,' and just put me in handcuffs and drug and dragged me out.—
Mahsa Saeidi,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Baker, still by himself, grabbed Rivera’s bulletproof vest and dragged her to the first-floor lobby, where he was met by other responding Chicago Police Department officers.—
Sam Charles,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Last Tuesday, the fashion designer strolled in a very different location.—
Randee Dawn,
Variety,
20 Apr. 2026
-
When LaBeija, as Gus the Theatre Cat, finally strolled onstage to revisit his glory days, waggling his long, polished claws, a younger Gus (Jonathan Burke) appeared, like a mirror dancing toward him.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Margot, who works for a social-media platform called Kino and shares a New Orleans apartment with her bestie, Ryan (Aaron Holliday), has only just crawled out of a dark period and doesn’t require much to teeter back in.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
-
As a toddler, Gabriela crawled about the UCLA clubhouse at reunions.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Further on, sandy-colored cows lazed in the mid-morning sun.—
Sarah Henry,
AZCentral.com,
18 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The Lakers guard reached and poked the ball away.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
-
The couple poked fun at the social media conversation surrounding them in an Instagram Reel.—
Athena Sobhan,
PEOPLE,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dawdled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dawdled. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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