1
as in delaying
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 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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for diddling
Verb
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Hilton proposes to reform the California Environmental Quality Act so that only government prosecutors can sue, preventing private individuals and organizations from stopping or delaying new housing projects.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026 -
Nearly 40% of calls handled by Sacramento’s emergency medical services system were non-emergencies, tying up ambulances and paramedics, delaying urgent medical responses and adding nearly $5 million in costs to the city, according to a city audit.—
Reeti Malhotra
May 29,
Sacbee.com,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Greg de la Garza, Miami The Republican Party of Florida is cheating and getting away with it.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
30 May 2026
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In the course of reality TV’s 20-some-odd years golden era, a cheating scandal is almost as certain as a public screaming match in an unsuspecting local restaurant.—
Alexandra Hildreth,
Vogue,
29 May 2026
Verb
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In partnership with Underdog, a popular daily fantasy sports (DFS) and pick'em betting platform, Brooks revealed a one-of-a-kind board game poking fun at SGA.—
Jon Root OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
22 May 2026
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Plenty of skilled directors can manipulate tension and fear while still poking us toward nervous laughter.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
22 May 2026
Verb
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After squeezing the game’s final out, first baseman Leyton MacPherson casually flipped the ball in the air, joined her teammate in a sprint toward Spangler, and gloves began flying.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 May 2026
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After a week of squeezing through the dangerous, mazelike cave network, divers Mikko Paasi and Norrased Palasing emerged from its muddy waters Wednesday to find a cause for hope.—
Alexander Smith,
NBC news,
27 May 2026
Verb
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Sources of Putin’s Sluggish Polling One would think that the reason for this decline in Putin’s approval rating would be the war in Ukraine dragging on.—
Natasha Lindstaedt,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2026
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This is a man who has dedicated six and a half years of his life, just about every waking moment, to dragging his club to the top of the mountain.—
Amy Lawrence,
New York Times,
23 May 2026
Verb
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The only thing that prevented a shutout was Ross Colton plucking in a rebound off Brent Burns’ sniper off Hart’s chest.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
23 May 2026
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The Lightning historically have done a tremendous job plucking NHL talent from the middle rounds of the draft.—
Eduardo Encina,
The Orlando Sentinel,
16 May 2026
Verb
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The finish is medium to long, with lingering notes of oak, cocoa, and a light citrus-spice lift.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
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The Athletic Club Oakland had closed in February, with blame going toward the lingering effects of the pandemic and professional sports teams leaving Oakland.—
John Metcalfe,
Mercury News,
26 May 2026
Verb
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The ball trickled behind second, and Hoerner kept going, hustling his way to second.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
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Over the past few years, Google has been hustling to reinvent its business for the AI age, trying to keep consumers in the habit of going to its search page as chatbots from startups such as OpenAI and Anthropic become more popular.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
29 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Diddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/diddling. Accessed 1 Jun. 2026.
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