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 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

In 2014, Russia was proven to have cheated in the Sochi Olympic Games.

— Katie Uhlaender OutKick, FOXNews.com, 20 July 2026
Although receipt of the letter does not indicate that someone definitively cheated, an unspecified number of cases have been referred to district attorneys for prosecution, the spokesperson said.

— Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026

Definition of cheated

Verb

And their semi-final victory over England was plucked from another incredibly precarious position.

— Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 20 July 2026
In the center of the patio stands what looks like a jumbotron plucked from an arena nearby and set it down on a platform, with all four sides showing that day's game.

— Becky Sullivan, NPR, 19 July 2026

Definition of plucked

Verb

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
My jaw twitched uncontrollably.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 May 2026

Definition of twitched

Verb

Tournament football isn’t generally conducive to pressing, with so many matches squeezed into such a short window, and without the cohesion that comes from club sides training together for months.

— Michael Cox, New York Times, 22 July 2026
My problem is the kart path along the road has 3 or so feet of grass between it and the road, then suddenly the grass narrows and is eventually gone before going over the bridge and everything is squeezed together.

— Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 20 July 2026

Definition of squeezed

Verb

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
His Japanese guest, usually a paragon of diplomatic cool, visibly squirmed.

— Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 14 Apr. 2026

Definition of squirmed

Verb

With one hour to collect their gear and pack the school bus taking them to Miami Gardens, the kids hustled to get ready to make their World Cup debut.

— Michael Butler, Miami Herald, 11 July 2026
Angela George The program's pacing and energy feel hustled this evening as organizers try to make up for two hours lost because of storms earlier in the day.

— Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 3 July 2026