DIDDLED Synonyms: 163 Similar and Opposite Words

diddled

verb

past tense of diddle

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

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

Gutierrez allegedly dragged his girlfriend out of their home and into the street at gunpoint on Monday, where he was promptly arrested by his fellow officers.

— James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
Dalí’s body has not been dragged from the grave, but a version of him has been put to work, his likeness shaped and molded to fit the desires of another.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of dragged

Verb

At polling locations across Florida's Broward County, voting was delayed for 20 minutes after polls opened because a new voting system safety feature malfunctioned.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 2026
During this time, as the district and the community colleges system responded to the safety incident, students’ disbursements were delayed.

— Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of delayed

Verb

In the third quarter, Doncic missed a three-pointer, but Jake LaRavia hustled to collect the rebound.

— Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026
In Frankfurt, a gray city crumbling at the corners and still finding its footing after the war, though somehow doing its best to pretend all is well, Mann and Erika are greeted by the mayor and hustled off to a press conference.

— Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of hustled

Verb

Concerns lingered even though later studies showed the benefits of today’s hormone therapies outweigh the risks for many women.

— Laura Ungar, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026
Unaccompanied minors entering the state hit a peak of 1,441 in 2021 and lingered above 1,000 each year until last year.

— Sasha Allen, Hartford Courant, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of lingered

Verb

Apple has already implemented a series of price hikes on some of its hardware offerings due to rising memory costs, but margins can still be squeezed if the full increase wasn't passed through.

— Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2026
But in Israel at least, creatives have been stymied in recent years by a plethora of measures that have left them squeezed between censorship at home and international boycotts.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of squeezed

Verb

Reid returned but kept grabbing at his lower back, White returned after being poked in eye.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 4 Nov. 2026
Kessler, standing nearby during Williams’ postgame news conference, poked his head out from behind a black curtain and gave his teammate a thumbs-up.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of poked

Verb

Stars Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgard, Raymond Nicholson and Tom Francis as college football stars plucked from the height of their sports careers and into Marine training and the Pacific theater.

— Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 1 Nov. 2026
Luckily for the man, having all of the adult worms plucked from his orbs meant the infection was over—no antiparasitic medication required, even if some of the larvae had been left behind.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 26 Oct. 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)

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Diddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/diddled. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of diddled

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

abandon

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes