1
as in to delay
to move or act slowly
don't dillydally on the way to the store
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to lazy
to spend time doing nothing
restaurant employees who, during the slow periods, would rather be doing something instead of just dillydallying
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dillydally
There was the tapping of the top of the bat to his toes, scribbling in the dirt, adjusting his gloves and swiping his shoulder, among other displays of dillydallying.
—
Anna Brand, CNN, 30 Mar. 2023
Bathroom breaks and other excuses for dillydallying give your heart rate a chance to return to normal.
—Elizabeth Narins, Cosmopolitan, 22 May 2015
Anna Brand, CNN, 30 Mar. 2023
Bathroom breaks and other excuses for dillydallying give your heart rate a chance to return to normal.
—Elizabeth Narins, Cosmopolitan, 22 May 2015
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dillydally
Verb
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Voting on the first day was delayed when security officials picked up a cell phone signal inside the Sistine Chapel, O’Connell writes.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Mehta reminded the judge that Cox tried to delay a previous trial by requesting to self represent.—
Amy DeLaura,
The Washington Examiner,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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For the parents watching nearby, the larger story lingers.—
Peter Folan,
Boston Herald,
25 Feb. 2026
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Though both storms are similar — with a major storm system lingering over the region for over a day and whipping the region with merciless hurricane-level winds, driving inch after inch of wet snow — what made the 1978 storm so devastating was the apparent suddenness of its arrival.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Flight attendants turned into drill sergeants, barking at passengers who flouted mask rules or dawdled too long eating that snack with the mask off.—
Thomas Black,
Twin Cities,
21 Dec. 2025
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My request to ownership is don’t dawdle.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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But Coach never agreed to that deal, and once Ozzy got the key on the ground, Coach dragged it over to win supplies.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
26 Feb. 2026
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Software stocks have been caught up in a sell-off that dragged the sector into bear market territory, amid fears AI could make software as a service — or SaaS — obsolete.—
Chloe Taylor,
CNBC,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Then Jason and Thor shower together, each lathering the other’s back and bums up with fewer orgasms than an old Herbal Essences commercial.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
4 Feb. 2026
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Rittenhouse admits to initially being bummed out to not be the murderer, only to quickly come around to preferring this outcome.—
Derek Lawrence,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As Luna in your financial quadrant pokes the Sun in your friendship zone, money boundaries and group expectations likely tug in different directions.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
24 Feb. 2026
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Galloway pokes a single to left field.—
Caleb Yum,
Austin American Statesman,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Takaichi also promised to speed the restart of reactors idled since the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in 2011.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
20 Feb. 2026
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The car, however, has a feature that automatically turns off the engine after one hour of idling.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As the Bay Area slowly — some might say glacially — crawls into spring, there’s nothing better than sipping a hot cup of tea or coffee to warm yourself up.—
Kate Bradshaw,
Mercury News,
25 Feb. 2026
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To want to crawl out of your own body because your brain betrayed you?—
Peter White,
Deadline,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dillydally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dillydally. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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