FIDDLES Synonyms: 120 Similar and Opposite Words

fiddles 1 of 2

noun

plural of fiddle

as in scams

chiefly British an instance of the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value the e-mail was another one of those fiddles from some supposed Nigerian millionaire seeking to transfer funds out of his country

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fiddles

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of fiddle

as in fidgets

to make jerky or restless movements the executive fiddled with a pen as she impatiently waited for the meeting to begin

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in plucks

to rob by the use of trickery or threats conscienceless grifters who had spent their lives fiddling the naive

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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 fiddles

Noun

Live musicians will play, usually country or Cajun French music, featuring instruments like accordions and fiddles. —

Carlie Procell, USA Today, 18 Feb. 2026 The film's soundtrack carries on that way throughout, showing the boundless energy of hardscrabble, down-to-their-last-dime people via fifes, fiddles, and harps. —

Alex Galbraith, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Feb. 2026 Many musical instruments, particularly hollow wooden ones like acoustic guitars and fiddles, as well as pianos, are susceptible to damage from temperature and humidity fluctuations. —

Margaret Littman, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2026 Make sure to go on a night when the Moondogs bluegrass band is performing with washboards and fiddles. —

Megan Margulies, Travel + Leisure, 11 Oct. 2025 Country exists in two realities at once — the fiddles-and-steel-guitar traditionalists on one side and glossy crossovers on the other. —

Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 1 Oct. 2025 Over a mashup of fiddles and guitars, Tod and Jennings blend their rough-hewn voices on a song about consequences for older vices and choices, pondering when the consequences of those actions outweigh the vices themselves. —

Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 29 Sep. 2025

Verb

The contract model means that when Congress fiddles, it isn’t impacted. —

The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 22 Mar. 2026 Meanwhile, Congress fiddles while structural defects in Medicare and Social Security threaten to engulf the programs. —

Editorial, Boston Herald, 12 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fiddles

Noun

Security company Trend Micro has documented that actors who’ve worked on past operations benefiting the North Korean government have used these addresses, particularly in scams involving fake recruiters.

— Jessica Klein, PC Magazine, 11 Apr. 2026
Never click on suspicious links Some scams prompt you to click on a link that takes you to a fake website to gather your personal information or unintentionally download malware onto your computer.

— Jasmin Suknanan, CNBC, 10 Apr. 2026