FIDDLED Synonyms: 93 Similar and Opposite Words

fiddled

verb

past tense of fiddle

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

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of fiddled Her thumbs fiddled, and her eyebrows rose as Castillo excoriated government spending on undocumented immigrants. — Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fiddled

Verb

One woman ordered some home furniture while two children fidgeted nearby.

— David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2026
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

Definition of fidgeted

Verb

As Gabe yells that Morgan cheated and broke up the family, a grin starts to spread across Nick’s and Serena’s faces.

— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
The Dubas front office cheated for offence in a sense too, deciding to buck the trend by building from centre ice backwards and not drafting/developing top d-men.

— James Mirtle, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of cheated

Verb

The few immigrants who did vote improperly had their ballots tossed but otherwise faced no legal problems.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
The Panthers are coming off a 59-0 victory over Nevada Community; Heritage sophomore quarterback Lane Vargas tossed eight TD passes.

— Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of tossed

Verb

During fall, a train window serves as the perfect perch for leaf-peeping in river valleys aglow in crimson and gold or passing through small towns that look like they’ve been plucked from a Hallmark movie.

— Lauren Dana Ellman, Midwest Living, 15 Oct. 2026
As the party winded down, guests plucked final bites off silver platters and marveled at how tall Skarsgård truly is in person—his nearly six-foot-five frame barely fit under the bar’s low ceilings.

— Kenneal Patterson, Vanity Fair, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of plucked

Verb

In Malabo, Bioko’s biggest city, a team of men and women equipped with insecticide sprayers squeezed between low-rise cement buildings on a recent morning, as heavy rain drummed on aluminum roofs.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
Elevated borrowing rates and refinancing challenges (registration required) have squeezed an already difficult landscape for development financing.

— Jill Jones, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of squeezed

Verb

Quickly, the house lights come up, and Lay and family are hustled backstage to get reacquainted.

— Joan Kron, Allure, 28 Sep. 2026
Her mother hustled her to hospital, only for the doctors to realize Accurso’s active imagination had left her in the same predicament as Madeline’s friends.

— CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026