as in playing
to spend time in aimless activity
I plan to spend the entire vacation just doodling
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Recent Examples of doodling
Amazon Kindle Scribe Deal The Kindle Scribe is for the reader who can't stop doodling in the margins.
—
Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 3 Apr. 2026
Seidle sketches out miniature worlds on his Casio with the oblong abstractions of a kindergartener doodling on a piece of paper, his primitive songs existing in a kind of nascent pre-genre state.
—Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 2 Apr. 2026
The design was inspired by the hair-tearing boredom of COVID lockdown-era remote work, a time in which Knafs founder Ben Petersen maintained sanity during Zoom calls by fidgeting around with pocket knives and doodling pictures.
—New Atlas, 26 Mar. 2026
Like a lot of artists, Zard Apuya remembers being the kind of kid who was always doodling or drawing.
—Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
Their two oldest sat behind them in a drab conference room, doodling or staring blankly at the screen.
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC news, 13 Feb. 2026
As always with Gibney’s docs, there’s an abundance of archival material, covering records of Rushdie’s life but also doodling animation, images and film clips that provide a visual correlation to the subject’s thoughts.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 25 Jan. 2026
Loyal Devotion started his journey as an artist, doodling on his schoolwork while a sixth grader at Neal Math and Science Academy middle school in North Chicago.
—Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2026
Participate in this session, which includes a doodling activity led by artist Yurika Chiba, then transition to the main restorative sound bath session.
—Hema Sivanandam, Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2026
Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 3 Apr. 2026
Seidle sketches out miniature worlds on his Casio with the oblong abstractions of a kindergartener doodling on a piece of paper, his primitive songs existing in a kind of nascent pre-genre state.
—Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 2 Apr. 2026
The design was inspired by the hair-tearing boredom of COVID lockdown-era remote work, a time in which Knafs founder Ben Petersen maintained sanity during Zoom calls by fidgeting around with pocket knives and doodling pictures.
—New Atlas, 26 Mar. 2026
Like a lot of artists, Zard Apuya remembers being the kind of kid who was always doodling or drawing.
—Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
Their two oldest sat behind them in a drab conference room, doodling or staring blankly at the screen.
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC news, 13 Feb. 2026
As always with Gibney’s docs, there’s an abundance of archival material, covering records of Rushdie’s life but also doodling animation, images and film clips that provide a visual correlation to the subject’s thoughts.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 25 Jan. 2026
Loyal Devotion started his journey as an artist, doodling on his schoolwork while a sixth grader at Neal Math and Science Academy middle school in North Chicago.
—Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2026
Participate in this session, which includes a doodling activity led by artist Yurika Chiba, then transition to the main restorative sound bath session.
—Hema Sivanandam, Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doodling
playing
Verb
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At a press conference Wednesday announcing the bill, lawmakers cited studies showing that the cost of playing youth sports has risen by 46% in five years, with many families paying more than $5,000 per child for a single season.—
Kenny Jacoby,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
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The 16-year-old Sullivan collected his first career MLS goal, playing a cross to Ben Bender and finishing the return pass to cut the deficit to 3-2.—
Kyle Foley,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Doodling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doodling. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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