DIDDLES Synonyms: 157 Similar and Opposite Words

diddles

verb

present tense third-person singular of diddle

as in pokes

to move or act slowly even though the hurricane was fast approaching, federal and local politicians wasted precious time diddling

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as in plucks

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

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for diddles

Verb

Bryan gets attacked by a dog, who pokes its head through a barn wall…and then the dog’s face splits apart like a flower, with tentacles shooting out.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
Natural light pokes through the windows, adding a trademark freshness to an indoor coliseum.

— Alec Lewis, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of pokes

Verb

Trump sometimes plucks memes from a sprawling ecosystem of online conservative supporters, and sometimes his government staff produces them as part of their official messaging.

— Josh Boak, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
His torso and thighs grow eye-poppingly muscular beneath their skimpy fur-and-leather togs—a development that does not go unnoticed by a warrior named Red Hair, who plucks the young hunk from his post and tosses him into the prime time of the gladiator pit.

— Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 15 June 2026

Definition of plucks

Verb

Flooding issues will likely peak late this week or early this weekend for many spots, and could be slow to ease next week if the nor’easter lingers close to the coast.

— Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2026
The camera still lingers, the music still aches, but the urgency is gone.

— Henry Metz, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of lingers

Verb

That means if a trade war squeezes household spending, disrupts supply chains or generates ill will among local constituencies, there’s a chance the NHL (and at least 10 clubs) feels the pinch.

— Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 18 Sep. 2026
People’s financial margin for error is generally pretty small, and just the rising cost of most everything just squeezes them more and more.

— Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of squeezes

Verb

For anyone living in a household where someone snores, wakes up with headaches or drags through the day, Jack Black’s candid podcast conversation about his CPAP machine offers a familiar reference point.

— Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 25 Sep. 2026
Those votes are increasingly challenging for some GOP senators as the war drags on.

— Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of drags

Verb

There’s also a less than 10% chance of showers, if one of the hurricanes crawls farther up the coast, according to Wofford.

— Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Hairy-nosed wombat births are hard to spot, as after about a 30-day pregnancy, the joey crawls into its mother’s pouch.

— Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of crawls

Verb

Jessica Gonzalez hustles behind her booth at the recent Renegade Craft Fair, frantically ringing up sales, answering questions and packaging her beeswax candles.

— Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Despite concerns that chip stocks could be topping out as the industry hustles to boost supply, Wall Street thinks Micron still has plenty of room to run.

— Tobias Burns, CNBC, 22 June 2026

Definition of hustles

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.

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“Diddles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/diddles. Accessed 28 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of diddles

verb

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