1
as in to delay
to move or act slowly
even though the hurricane was fast approaching, federal and local politicians wasted precious time diddling
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to cheat
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
an unscrupulous Broadway producer diddles little old ladies by persuading them to invest in a surefire flop
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for diddle
Verb
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A day earlier, flights were delayed at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, New Jersey’s Newark airport and Washington’s Reagan National Airport because of air traffic controller shortages.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025 -
His discharge has been delayed due to his father’s detention.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The release came as the Ciattarelli campaign tried to raise questions about whether Sherrill was involved in a cheating scandal during her time in Annapolis in the early 1990s.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
26 Oct. 2025
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The documents included disciplinary information and reportedly showed that Sherrill was barred from walking at her 1994 graduation after refusing to inform on classmates involved in a cheating scandal.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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One poked his head into the live shot and later stuck his hand into the frame, seemingly seeking a fist bump from the reporter.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
20 Oct. 2025
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Kean himself gets a tattoo hand-poked into his skin and applies medieval salves to his wounds.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In a sector already squeezed by rising land prices, material costs, and labor shortages, those weeks of manual quantification represent millions of dollars in overhead that never swing a hammer.—
Jon Stojan,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
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Made mostly of muscle without a bone in their bodies, these wonderful weirdos can squeeze into spaces scarcely bigger than their eyeballs.—
Kate Siber,
Outside,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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When a storm crawls like this, rainfall piles up over the same towns for days.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
23 Oct. 2025
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Modern Wall Street has killed just about everything cool that walks or crawled at one time or another.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Pieces from Stock are often plucked by stylists for celebrity editorials for Vanity Fair, Esquire and GQ.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
24 Oct. 2025
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This faux Dunhill Fir is designed to look and feel like a tree plucked straight off the lot, without the single-season lifespan or mess of shedding needles.—
Maggie Horton,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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His low cross found Pascal Gross for a tap-in at the far post after Luke Shaw had been dragged central trying to cut off Adam Lallana.—
Laurie Whitwell,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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Vader moves the blade, raises it, but the shadow seems to only deepen, the pull of the dark side suddenly stronger, a riptide that threatens to drag him under.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Their hoods are covered with special plugs where 2,200 corals grown at the Miami Native Coral Lab in Allapattah will be screwed in.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
21 Oct. 2025
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And while the screw-on cap is comprised of BPA-free, durable, and food-safe polypropylene, Brandon recommends always hand-washing the tops and not leaving them out in the sun, as UV light can break down even the best plastics.—
Clay Abney,
Travel + Leisure,
20 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Diddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/diddle. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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