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
as in fidgeting
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of fiddling
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Colorado’s lone goal was a result of some Matt Wells tactical fiddling — and Keegan Rosenberry playing like his job’s on the line — gone right.
—
Braidon Nourse,
Denver Post,
15 Apr. 2026
Because the two cameras on the drone are rotatable via a pivot mechanism, the drone can also just use one camera, pointing forward, to shoot conventional 4K videos, meaning these are just regular videos with set framing and do not need any fiddling in post-production.
—
Ben Sin,
Forbes.com,
26 Mar. 2026
But the mayor’s dramatic tale of his predecessor’s fiscal fiddling was designed with a clear political agenda in mind: both to underline the magnitude of the problem and to identify the villains responsible for this perfidy.
—
Washington Post,
29 Jan. 2026
As the options for facial fiddling have become more accessible, the face is increasingly regarded as an image to be perfected.
—
Valerie Monroe,
Allure,
15 Jan. 2026
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
That means they’re perfectly aligned from the get-go, with no need for after-the-fact fiddling.
—
IEEE Spectrum,
11 Nov. 2016
Randy McMullen,
Mercury News,
30 Apr. 2026
But none of these tracks really explore their ideas as much as just fiddling in place, with any initial energy fizzling out almost immediately.
—
Sam Goldner,
Pitchfork,
9 Mar. 2026
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
Noun
Her fiddling is a looser, freer, more accessible type of memorialization—less a notation than an invocation, a summoning of her homeland’s spirit.
—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Colorado’s lone goal was a result of some Matt Wells tactical fiddling — and Keegan Rosenberry playing like his job’s on the line — gone right.
—
Braidon Nourse,
Denver Post,
15 Apr. 2026
Because the two cameras on the drone are rotatable via a pivot mechanism, the drone can also just use one camera, pointing forward, to shoot conventional 4K videos, meaning these are just regular videos with set framing and do not need any fiddling in post-production.
—
Ben Sin,
Forbes.com,
26 Mar. 2026
But the mayor’s dramatic tale of his predecessor’s fiscal fiddling was designed with a clear political agenda in mind: both to underline the magnitude of the problem and to identify the villains responsible for this perfidy.
—
Washington Post,
29 Jan. 2026
As the options for facial fiddling have become more accessible, the face is increasingly regarded as an image to be perfected.
—
Valerie Monroe,
Allure,
15 Jan. 2026
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
That means they’re perfectly aligned from the get-go, with no need for after-the-fact fiddling.
—
IEEE Spectrum,
11 Nov. 2016
Verb
On Sunday, the lineup includes Tatiana Hargreaves, a rising-star in the bluegrass fiddling scene, with her band and special guest Michael Daves; the honky-tonk duo Caleb Lauder and Reeb Wllms with their band the Cali Cutups; and Pleasanton native and all-world strings player Tony Furtado.
—
Randy McMullen,
Mercury News,
30 Apr. 2026
But none of these tracks really explore their ideas as much as just fiddling in place, with any initial energy fizzling out almost immediately.
—
Sam Goldner,
Pitchfork,
9 Mar. 2026
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
-
Messi had been dealing with a minor hamstring injury with Inter Miami that slowed him in the lead-up to the World Cup.
-
Nearly four-fifths of respondents said that gas prices present some sort of strain, with 34% categorizing it as a major strain and 44% calling it a minor strain.
Noun
-
Canines might be stressed and anxious, which can be shown through panting, whining, barking, pacing or fidgeting.
-
That fit may cut down on mid-session fidgeting during a video call or while answering a quick text.
Verb
-
There is something cultish about that idea — the player who tends not to start but has the knack to appear later on with antennae twitching, ready to seize the day and alter the course of a match.
-
Leon Stetson was allegedly twitching, so officers moved him away from Carrie Stetson and started to render medical aid.
Verb
-
Either way, Angela’s slip is definitely showing in terms of behind-the-scenes messiness (seriously, enough is enough with the cheating stories!
-
Everybody says Democrats are cheating!
Adjective
-
Name the worry out loud, then choose a small boundary that protects your energy, such as turning off notifications during a demanding task.
-
People milled about clutching small rainbow flags from the human rights organization Outright International.
Noun
-
Throughout the writhing and the screaming, Julia’s fortitude wears down a defiant Davina, whose history with Lovat feeds the moment.
Verb
-
Applying frosting is one of the few things that cannot be said to be a subset of Haaland’s métier; after tossing his balky piping bag aside in frustration, the Norseman issued an expletive that was deemed bleep-worthy by Fox’s Standards & Practices crew.
-
Given the vast number of teens who are nowadays encountering mental health issues, tossing specialized labor at the matter is simply not realistic.
Verb
-
Of course, attempts to get more revenue out of taxpayers would carry political risks, but voters have been open to squeezing the wealthy.
-
Coach Spencer Carbery has done a masterful job of both squeezing what’s left out of the franchise’s best-ever player — Ovechkin led the Caps in both goals (32) and points (64) in 2025-26 — while simultaneously masking the deficiencies that come with age.
Cite this Entry
“Fiddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fiddling. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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