as in minor
lacking importance
you should delegate these fiddling matters to your staff so that you can focus on more important issues
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in twitching
to make jerky or restless movements
the executive fiddled with a pen as she impatiently waited for the meeting to begin
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cheating
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
conscienceless grifters who had spent their lives fiddling the naive
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in fidgeting
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of fiddling
PC Magazine, 13 Oct. 2025
Now scientists have found that, with a little fiddling, the feathers can be adjusted to turn flashes of light into laser beams.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 5 Aug. 2025
Life’s hard enough, and if facial fiddling is music to your ears, have at it.
—Valerie Monroe, Allure, 21 Feb. 2025
The fiddling pays off when the fresh herb vinaigrette dresses a mix of Iceberg lettuce and one of the mixed greens combos sold in the marketplace.
—Cathy Thomas, Orange County Register, 13 Jan. 2025
Saturday Fiddle Contest: 11 a.m. at Alyeska Pipeline Colony Stage
Grab your fiddle and play a tune or just check out some of the state’s best sawing on their instruments in a number of categories, including youth, teen, open and twin fiddling.
—Chris Bieri, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Aug. 2023
With more time on her hands, Henderson has been learning improvisation, bluegrass fiddling and improvisation.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Nov. 2020
Again, no fiddling.
—Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY, 26 Sep. 2020
Such is always the case with this sort of self-interested fiddling.
—Eric Gordy, Foreign Affairs, 10 Oct. 2018
Keith Phipps, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
The party that fails this test will be remembered — if at all — as the one fiddling while Rome was automated.
—Matt K. Lewis, Twin Cities, 19 Aug. 2025
Haggard was fiddling on the new strings when Marian, Dad’s mother, who’d taken over as the store’s bookkeeper, walked by.
—Nancy Walecki, The Atlantic, 7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
For those deep in the Apple ecosystem who want headphones that just work without all the fiddling, the Beats Solo 4 make sense with a 25% discount.
—PC Magazine, 13 Oct. 2025
Now scientists have found that, with a little fiddling, the feathers can be adjusted to turn flashes of light into laser beams.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 5 Aug. 2025
Life’s hard enough, and if facial fiddling is music to your ears, have at it.
—Valerie Monroe, Allure, 21 Feb. 2025
The fiddling pays off when the fresh herb vinaigrette dresses a mix of Iceberg lettuce and one of the mixed greens combos sold in the marketplace.
—Cathy Thomas, Orange County Register, 13 Jan. 2025
Saturday Fiddle Contest: 11 a.m. at Alyeska Pipeline Colony Stage
Grab your fiddle and play a tune or just check out some of the state’s best sawing on their instruments in a number of categories, including youth, teen, open and twin fiddling.
—Chris Bieri, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Aug. 2023
With more time on her hands, Henderson has been learning improvisation, bluegrass fiddling and improvisation.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Nov. 2020
Again, no fiddling.
—Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY, 26 Sep. 2020
Such is always the case with this sort of self-interested fiddling.
—Eric Gordy, Foreign Affairs, 10 Oct. 2018
Noun
But in private, Arthur advises her to exercise a little more discretion in her, um, fiddling.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
The party that fails this test will be remembered — if at all — as the one fiddling while Rome was automated.
—Matt K. Lewis, Twin Cities, 19 Aug. 2025
Haggard was fiddling on the new strings when Marian, Dad’s mother, who’d taken over as the store’s bookkeeper, walked by.
—Nancy Walecki, The Atlantic, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fiddling
Adjective
-
Many of them see it as a serious sign of lack of compatibility, rather than a minor difference in opinion.—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
-
Given the gale force NE'rly winds some minor soundside coastal flooding (up to 1-2 ft) may also occur starting with the Tue afternoon high tide cycle as well.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Applause intermingled with tears as the families of the Camp Mystic campers and counselors looked on, many with small children fidgeting in their Sunday-best attire behind the governor.—
Rebekah Riess,
CNN Money,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The documents included disciplinary information and reportedly showed that Sherrill was barred from walking at her 1994 graduation after refusing to inform on classmates involved in a cheating scandal.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
-
In backrooms, there was none of the surveillance tech that reputable casinos use to catch players cheating.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Patients first experience twitching or weakness in a limb, often followed by slurred speech.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Add the ginger during the last minute of cooking, then transfer the mixture to a small bowl and set aside.—
Elizabeth Fogarty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Martin knocked on the hunter’s small tent.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Job prospects are so bleak that Gen Z is going straight from tossing their graduation caps to years of doom with zero luck.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Now the Longs, through Palmer Square and Marquee Development, the real estate arm of the Ricketts family, owners of the Chicago Cubs, are tossing another $1 billion into the mix in three phases.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Down 38-14 early in the fourth quarter, Texas staged one of the college football season’s more improbable rallies Saturday, scoring 31 unanswered points and squeezing past Mississippi State 45-38 in overtime.—
Rowan Fisher-Shotton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Oct. 2025
-
Haiti, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic’s steep terrain will force air upward, wringing out more moisture from the storm, just like squeezing a wet sponge, turning tropical humidity into torrents racing downhill.—
Chris Dolce,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Throughout the writhing and the screaming, Julia’s fortitude wears down a defiant Davina, whose history with Lovat feeds the moment.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fiddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fiddling. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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