1
as in dragged
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 cheated
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 diddled
Verb
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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 -
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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To sum up the series finale’s key moments, in the college timeline, Bree (Cat Missal), in a rage of anger after finding out that Lucy (Grace Van Patten) was the person Evan (Branden Cook) had cheated with, releases the tape of Lucy admitting to lying about being raped.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2026
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Ustyugov was also a part of the Russian relay team that won the gold medal in the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and was found to have cheated ahead of that season as well.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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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
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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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His attacker, the man in black, was hustled off the stage.—
Anderson Cooper,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
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As the lights came up, Taylor had already been hustled out, as had Arnaud.—
Eve Batey,
Vanity Fair,
7 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
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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
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Small businesses and farmers got squeezed.—
Justin Papp,
CNBC,
20 Feb. 2026
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Vendors built on per-seat licensing and static tools are seeing their economics squeezed as AI systems compress development timelines and reduce maintenance overhead.—
David Stout,
Fortune,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Loamy soil keeps its shape but crumbles easily when poked.—
Nadia Hassani,
The Spruce,
16 Feb. 2026
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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
Verb
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The Las Vegas Raiders plucked away offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and hired him as their head coach.—
Andrew Destin,
Fortune,
18 Feb. 2026
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The Angel Hold Hair Styling Cream gives expensive-looking waves and smooth, frizz-free hair that looks like you just got plucked up from a Greek vacation.—
Reece Andavolgyi,
InStyle,
17 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Diddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/diddled. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
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