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
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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
-
Under the modification, the General Dynamics subsidiary will aim to address supplier network bottlenecks that have delayed the delivery of the first submarine in the next-generation 12-vessel fleet of nuclear submarines.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Mar. 2026
-
This delayed his feeding and cost us many peanuts.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Early May could bring a brief snag but that doesn’t linger.—
Magi Helena,
Dallas Morning News,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Rather than depicting the blast itself, Testament focuses on what lingers.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
My request to ownership is don’t dawdle.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Petzold dragged his chair a little closer to listen.—
Holden Seidlitz,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026
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O’Brien’s words echoed the taunts that the two had thrown back and forth at each other in an actual Senate hearing that almost ended in a knockdown, drag-out fight.—
Jeremy Lott,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Critical thinking really bums them out.—
Ed Masley,
AZCentral.com,
13 Mar. 2026
-
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
Verb
-
Kellner pokes a ball into the soft spot in left-center, scoring two runs.—
Caleb Yum,
Austin American Statesman,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Many spectators poked fun at the efforts of Chicago police to confiscate and collect BORGs in viral posts over the weekend.—
Madeline King,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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There are currently about 400 oil and product tankers idle in the Gulf, and one oil tanker passed through the Strait of Hormuz without incident on Monday, according to data from the website MarineTraffic.—
Jon Gambrell,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Mar. 2026
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Large traffic volumes have resulted in Chinatown becoming an epicenter of poor air quality due to idling cars.—
Chase Hunter,
Mercury News,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Shops at Yale recently announced the return of the New Haven food crawls and have added a date in December, according to a statement.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
18 Mar. 2026
-
On Polymarket’s tab for Bitcoin, a line graph crawls along like a seismograph, showing the price to beat as the total cost fluctuates by hundreds of dollars a second.—
Joe Wilkins Published Mar 18,
Futurism,
18 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dillydally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dillydally. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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