DIDDLING Synonyms: 159 Similar and Opposite Words

diddling

verb

present participle of diddle

as in delaying

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 cheating

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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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for diddling

Verb

The fight, Haro said, is about more than extending a lease or delaying an eviction.

— Laura Rodríguez Presa, Chicago Tribune, 26 Sep. 2026
Shrinking resources and the accompanying uncertainty is delaying medical research and threatening progress towards finding cures, the team behind Proposition 38 said.

— Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of delaying

Verb

Sometimes only the tips of the reeds and the seed heads were visible, poking above the murky water, and other times the reeds stood fully exposed, with a clear view of crabs clambering around their bases.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
Video posted to social media showed one car nearly submerged, with just its sunroof poking above the water, as people moved other vehicles farther from the rising tides.

— Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of poking

Verb

Moreover, the short extension of the trade armistice only underscores its fragility; Beijing is still squeezing flows of rare earths to extract concessions from the US and coerce its allies, including Japan.

— Andy Browne, semafor.com, 26 Sep. 2026
That high pressure and the burgeoning nor’easter are squeezing the air between them, increasing wind speeds along the East Coast.

— Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of squeezing

Verb

Ted, naturally, advises everyone to stay positive, but the outlook isn’t great, and it’s not helped by the team doctor dragging his feet about seeing the Greyhounds star, which Keeley immediately clocks as sexism.

— Keith Phipps, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026
This movement of the fabric can shorten a hemline and secure a train so someone can easily move about without tripping or having extra fabric dragging on the ground.

— Shelby Wax, Vogue, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of dragging

Verb

LLMs are great at finding blowups that exist—at searching the infinite landscape of fluid scenarios and plucking out the precise situation that breaks the equations.

— Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2026
Fortunately, many dahlia insect problems in September can be solved by walking through the garden in the morning and plucking the offending insects off the plants by hand, then dropping them into a container of soapy water.

— Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of plucking

Verb

As the duo row through pitch-black darkness toward the flame, John experiences harrowing visions of his father and of his younger self, revealed to be an effect of the fear toxin lingering in the air.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2026
Still some lingering light rain and breezy conditions across parts of the Northeast for tomorrow morning, but not a washout for most.

— ABC News, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of lingering

Verb

Besides Instagram hustling and scouring job boards, entrepreneurial editors find gigs when creators call out for help.

— Andrew Zucker, HollywoodReporter, 7 Aug. 2026
Devers, who finished with three hits, eschewed his power for small ball in the fifth, laying down a surprise bunt for a single, then hustling home on Susac’s sacrifice fly.

— Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 31 July 2026

Definition of hustling

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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“Diddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/diddling. Accessed 30 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of diddling

verb

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