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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Even at Princeton, obviously, some students have always cheated.—
Rose Horowitch,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2026
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To the curry-sphere and beyond Iyer cheated a touch with the book’s title because some chapters exist outside of the sauce world.—
Scott Hocker,
TheWeek,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
Carmella and Omar made it onto the ballot, but only because of extraordinary effort and after hundreds of signatures were tossed.—
Adam Davis,
New York Daily News,
14 May 2026
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Most boxes focus on generic stuff that will either get ripped to shreds or tossed to the side.—
Rachel Cortez,
USA Today,
12 May 2026
Verb
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On screen, that depth is anchored by Williams and Storrie, actors plucked from restaurant-server obscurity.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
15 May 2026
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And wow, how juicy that fruit is, plucked straight from the plant and carved by Balala with a machete.—
Laura Dannen Redman,
Robb Report,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Pebbles twitched, branches waggled, cholla wiggled, weeds erupted then dried up and died.—
Alina Hartounian,
NPR,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Kearse twitched briefly after the lethal drugs began entering his system but stopped moving several minutes later.—
Freida Frisaro,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Dwight reached out and squeezed my upper arm, pulling me into a bear hug, smashing my face against the rough canvas of his jacket, his gloved hand on my ass pulling me closer.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 May 2026
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Patrick Mahomes’ torn right ACL and LCL prevented a late-season surge that might have squeezed KC into the postseason and another fateful meeting.—
Tim Graham,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
His Japanese guest, usually a paragon of diplomatic cool, visibly squirmed.—
Andreas Kluth,
Twin Cities,
14 Apr. 2026
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Substitute Nikolas Nartey completed the scoring in stoppage time with another deflected shot that squirmed in off the far post.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Dominguez hustled back to the wall and made a spectacular catch, but crashed incredibly hard into the wall.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
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Caminero led off with a walk, then hustled to third when Aranda followed with a single.—
Marc Topkin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fiddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fiddled. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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