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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But Democrats would also be allowed to bring up an indefinite number of amendments on any subject, forcing Republicans to take hard votes in an election year and delaying the process even more.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
15 Mar. 2026 -
The airframe is currently scheduled to remain in service until at least 2050, and upgrade programs are constantly being delayed.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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So those Santa Ana constituents would be cheated out of services if the money remained solely in the First District.—
Tony Saavedra,
Oc Register,
17 Mar. 2026
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But the people trying to cheat their way into benefits, Cooper said, are largely not the ones attending survivors’ conferences.—
Jacob Stern,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Kellner pokes a ball into the soft spot in left-center, scoring two runs.—
Caleb Yum,
Austin American Statesman,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Many spectators poked fun at the efforts of Chicago police to confiscate and collect BORGs in viral posts over the weekend.—
Madeline King,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Gasoline prices have raced closer to $4 per gallon during the war, squeezing many household budgets that are already under pressure.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Research budgets were gutted, marketing hollowed out, suppliers squeezed.—
Paul Polman,
Fortune,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Early May could bring a brief snag but that doesn’t linger.—
Magi Helena,
Dallas Morning News,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Rather than depicting the blast itself, Testament focuses on what lingers.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Oreade, the fine dining restaurant, is where Chef Riccardo Bacciottini unleashes his creativity and technical prowess, using local ingredients (many plucked right from the hotel’s gardens) to make sublime dishes like tomato tartare with basil and miso or artichokes confited with pepper sauce.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
18 Mar. 2026
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There’s something slightly shady about this time of year, too, where mid-major talent gets showcased so that the players can get plucked out of school by the major conferences.—
Tim Cowlishaw,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Petzold dragged his chair a little closer to listen.—
Holden Seidlitz,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026
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O’Brien’s words echoed the taunts that the two had thrown back and forth at each other in an actual Senate hearing that almost ended in a knockdown, drag-out fight.—
Jeremy Lott,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The result is that many contestants are frequent collaborators and have long histories with one another, adding extra juice to their attempts to screw each other over.—
Claire McNear,
Rolling Stone,
18 Mar. 2026
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Another big upgrade in terms of the Neo’s repairability compared to previous MacBooks, according to reviewers, is its screw-in battery.—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
15 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Diddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/diddle. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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