diddled

verb

past tense of diddle
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

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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
  1. dragged
  2. cheated
  3. delayed
  4. hustled
  5. lingered
  6. squeezed
  7. poked
  8. plucked
Verb
  • Two men dragged a third into the emergency room and laid him on the floor, according to footage shown in court.
    — Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026
  • His efforts dragged him into a love triangle with Annis and her former partner, Corbin Mims, which ultimately left Caleb single ahead of Casa Amor, the show’s midseason twist.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 10 July 2026
Definition of dragged
Verb
  • Hell may hath no fury like a Red Devils squad feeling cheated after the shocking FIFA decision to allow Balogun to play tonight in Seattle.
    — Ben Church, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
  • Billups is accused of participating in a conspiracy to fix high-stakes card games tied to La Cosa Nostra organized crime families that cheated unsuspecting gamblers out of at least $7 million.
    — Ed White, Twin Cities, 29 June 2026
Definition of cheated
Verb
  • Negotiations started months before the expiration date, Acree said, but were delayed in good faith because of new leadership at the helm.
    — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 15 July 2026
  • More than half of Chinese clean-tech investments in the US announced since 2022 have been canceled, paused, or delayed.
    — Tasneem Nashrulla, semafor.com, 14 July 2026
Definition of delayed
Verb
  • With one hour to collect their gear and pack the school bus taking them to Miami Gardens, the kids hustled to get ready to make their World Cup debut.
    — Michael Butler, Miami Herald, 11 July 2026
  • Angela George The program's pacing and energy feel hustled this evening as organizers try to make up for two hours lost because of storms earlier in the day.
    — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 3 July 2026
Definition of hustled
Verb
  • At the Pfizer building on East Forty-second Street, earlier this week, disaster, and the sense of excitement that disaster can create, lingered.
    — D. T. Max, New Yorker, 11 July 2026
  • Because the problem lingered, the break presented an opportunity to address it before the second half.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
Definition of lingered
Verb
  • But if rates stay high for an extended period, more marginal borrowers can be squeezed by interest servicing costs.
    — Hugh Leask, CNBC, 14 July 2026
  • Others in Stuyimby came through the experience of watching their parents get squeezed by the market.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 13 July 2026
Definition of squeezed
Verb
  • After a scrappy passage of play in which Morocco failed to clear their lines, Desire Doue poked a loose ball to Mbappe on the left edge of the area.
    — Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 9 July 2026
  • But Ecuador’s Gonzalo Plata stuck up his left foot, just in front of Neuer, and poked the ball into the net.
    — Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 27 June 2026
Definition of poked
Verb
  • In all, designing, building and assembling the horse involved a team of 45, not much less than the number of men on Odysseus’ ship (and roughly the same amount on board after the Cyclops and Scylla monsters had plucked off a few).
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 13 July 2026
  • Sweet and simple, these lemon motifs look plucked straight from a European grocer along the Amalfi coast.
    — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 13 July 2026
Definition of plucked
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

diddle
diddled
diddled (with)
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Cite this Entry

“Diddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/diddled. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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