1
as in fidgeted
to make jerky or restless movements
the executive fiddled with a pen as she impatiently waited for the meeting to begin
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cheated
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
conscienceless grifters who had spent their lives fiddling the naive
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fiddled
But what does some scientist know about eating fruit, of all things, when your hamstring feels like it’s being fiddled by Satan?
—
Dan England, Outside, 5 Feb. 2026
As Rossini stowed her purse in a tiny back office, a manager named Katie Atlas was onboarding a new employee, a young woman who fiddled nervously with her necklace.
—Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Communities across the globe probably independently fiddled their way towards the invention of proto lip balms over and over.
—Mark Hay, Popular Science, 13 Aug. 2025
Dan England, Outside, 5 Feb. 2026
As Rossini stowed her purse in a tiny back office, a manager named Katie Atlas was onboarding a new employee, a young woman who fiddled nervously with her necklace.
—Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Communities across the globe probably independently fiddled their way towards the invention of proto lip balms over and over.
—Mark Hay, Popular Science, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fiddled
Verb
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One woman ordered some home furniture while two children fidgeted nearby.—
David Lyons,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Mar. 2026
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Between each dance was an excruciating silence during which network-TV producers monitored and reset their equipment while the men fidgeted onstage like excitable children.—
Rebecca Jennings,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Hilton on Tuesday addressed the president’s unfounded but vociferous claims that Democrats have massively cheated in our recent election.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
-
People are robbed, assaulted and cheated.—
Armando Salguero OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
Staying on theme, Diaz tossed her hair into a quick updo with face-framing tendrils hanging out.—
Christina Perrier,
InStyle,
17 June 2026
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Cardboard boxes, whether filled or not, should definitely be tossed, as these attract insects of all kinds.—
Sarah Lyon,
Southern Living,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
Miami plucked a top prospect out of North Miami Beach on Sunday evening.—
Adam Lichtenstein,
Sun Sentinel,
14 June 2026
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The charming restaurant serves hyper-local cuisine, with many ingredients plucked straight from the gardens.—
Lindsay Cohn,
Travel + Leisure,
13 June 2026
Verb
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Many a club’s board would have twitched in the face of the bare data, but the chain of command above Arteta stayed the course, and the FOMO is so high that tickets for Palace away this weekend are going for £45,000 ($60,000) on resale sites.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
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My jaw twitched uncontrollably.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 May 2026
Verb
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As Pino sobbed, family members of Lucy Fernandez squeezed into the wood courtroom pews behind Adams while Pino’s supporters sat behind him.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
19 June 2026
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Almost the entire population of Gaza, more than 2 million people, has been squeezed into vast, squalid tent cities dependent on international aid.—
Melanie Lidman,
Chicago Tribune,
19 June 2026
Verb
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Belloumi’s 64th-minute strike with his left foot broke the deadlock in the second game of the two-leg affair and Gelhardt made sure with a low shot that squirmed past the Millwall goalkeeper.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 May 2026
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His Japanese guest, usually a paragon of diplomatic cool, visibly squirmed.—
Andreas Kluth,
Twin Cities,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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As bankers hustled behind closed doors to price the deal and reporters indicated a first price of as high as $175, SpaceX perp-traders on Hyperliquid were buying and selling futures as high as $180 around the opening bell and as low as $153 just before the first trade came in at $150.—
Oliver Renick,
CNBC,
15 June 2026
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The apparent charade lasted more than a minute before Wittman removed the phone from his face and hustled ahead of the reporter, ignoring questions the whole time.—
Joseph Konig,
PEOPLE,
10 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fiddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fiddled. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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