lollygagging

verb

variants also lallygagging
present participle of lollygag
as in delaying
to move or act slowly accused the government of lollygagging while survivors of the earthquake continued to live in the most wretched conditions

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lollygagging
  1. delaying
  2. lingering
  3. poking
  4. dragging
  5. crawling
  6. strolling
  7. dawdling
Verb
  • And more people are entering the system than leaving it, delaying help for newly homeless families.
    — Nicole Santa Cruz, ProPublica, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Though profits and revenue growth have generally been strong this year, the IPO market has stalled, with Oura and Bamboo Insurance delaying their offerings last month.
    — Morgan Chittum, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of delaying
Verb
  • While Beverly Hills and West Hollywood bounced back after the pandemic, Santa Monica continues to struggle with retail vacancies and lingering economic woes.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
  • The rich tomato sauce brought plenty of flavor, the Italian sausage added a savory bite and the Calabrian peppers gave the dish a lingering heat without overwhelming everything else.
    — Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of lingering
Verb
  • Sometimes only the tips of the reeds and the seed heads were visible, poking above the murky water, and other times the reeds stood fully exposed, with a clear view of crabs clambering around their bases.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Video posted to social media showed one car nearly submerged, with just its sunroof poking above the water, as people moved other vehicles farther from the rising tides.
    — Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of poking
Verb
  • But an owners representative claims that part of the problem was Erica and Peter dragging their feet on providing backup documents for their application package.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Another video shows two men beating and dragging a man into a car.
    — Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of dragging
Verb
  • Researchers have developed a paper-thin foot membrane that lets crawling microrobots harvest electricity directly from the ground beneath them, ditching heavy onboard batteries by turning metal and silicon surfaces into an active power source.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Traffic cameras showed that northbound traffic was bumper-to-bumper and crawling along I-35 before being detoured from the highway.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of crawling
Verb
  • Around them, people strolling through Herald Square stopped to watch — all while a seated crowd burst into dance and applause.
    — Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Photos of him at campus barbecues or strolling the neighborhood proliferate student social media circles.
    — Sophia Solano, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of strolling
Verb
  • Gvardiol looked jittery early on, rallied a little to break up some dangerous Porto attacks, but then started giving the ball away again and was booked for a needless pull after being caught dawdling in possession.
    — Thom Harris, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Further, there’s no excuse for Congress to continue dawdling on farm policy.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2025
Definition of dawdling
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.

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Lollygagging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lollygagging. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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