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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Apple looks to have delayed the release of the new macOS hardware into 2026.—
Ewan Spence,
Forbes.com,
13 July 2025
-
The city is planning to put safety upgrades on the stretch, but the project has been delayed to 2026, Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Ben Furnas said.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
12 July 2025
Verb
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This slight chance of thunderstorms lingers into Wednesday as the upper low passes over the region.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
9 July 2025
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But there are still lingering worries about how long Amazon and Apple will keep movies in theaters before sending them to streaming.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
9 July 2025
Verb
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As if aware that engaging plot is not the story’s strongest suit, Nicholaw keeps his foot on the accelerator throughout, making sure nothing and no one dawdles as the production hurtles from one incident to the next.—
David Benedict,
Variety,
24 June 2025
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Some of this feels more like dawdling: What's the point of Stick's cynical old buddy (Marc Maron) getting trapped under a fold-out bed?—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
4 June 2025
Verb
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The hard foul came after Sheldon poked Clark in the eye in the third quarter.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
13 July 2025
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The couple began dating in 2023 and frequently poke fun at each other on their social media pages.—
Caroline Blair,
People.com,
11 July 2025
Verb
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Paired with the gray-ish green color palette, sparse decor, and dark atmospherics in the Institute itself, the bleak vibes may be enough to turn some viewers off for good, especially those horror purists who tune in hoping to be terrified rather than just bummed out.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
13 July 2025
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In a lot of ways obviously, devastated and bummed out.—
Mike Fitzpatrick,
Baltimore Sun,
5 July 2025
Verb
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In particular, website owners and SEO experts wanted to know how Cloudflare planned to block Google's bot from scraping sites to fuel AI overviews without risking blocking the same bot from crawling for valuable search engine placements.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
9 July 2025
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Both are unable, under any circumstances, to resist crawling under someone doing a downward-facing dog.—
Erika Sjule,
New Yorker,
8 July 2025
Verb
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Anyone who filmed the idling trucks could claim a portion of the money collected through the fine.—
Clare Sestanovich,
New Yorker,
13 July 2025
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The clothing description of the suspect that Romero provided his fellow officers didn’t match a description provided by a witness who spotted the shooter open fire, then run into an idling car that sped him away from the shooting scene, according to Fletcher.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 July 2025
Verb
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That’s good for everyone, even expat journalists dragging their kids along to cover a new story.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
11 July 2025
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The plucky little superdog drags Superman to the Fortress of Solitude, where he is treated by a posse of robots.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dillydally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dillydally. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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