as in idling
to pretend to be sick or injured in order to avoid doing work
Because of his frequent absences, his boss suspected he was malingering.
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malingering
Verb
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The car, however, has a feature that automatically turns off the engine after one hour of idling.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026 -
Does idling your car really burn that much fuel?—
Ryley Amond,
CNBC,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Other concerns presented by the group were about animals coming through and messing with the trash cans.—
Ashley J. DiMella,
FOXNews.com,
16 Feb. 2026
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Now Rob is messing with another one of Candiace’s friends, and Candiace is ready to blow up the whole turret over it.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Indeed, depth would only get in the way of the plot, which is primarily concerned with fooling you and fooling you again.—
Television Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
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Watching Bedard break ankles on a nightly basis like Allen Iverson on skates, attempting one-man rushes most players couldn’t even fathom, fooling elite goaltenders with his patented drag-and-drive release, is exhilarating.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That’s what was bumming him out.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
3 Sep. 2025
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To be this close over and over is really bumming me out.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Spending time reading with, singing with, or playing games with close pals and family is at the heart of Danish happiness and hygge-ness.—
Gretta Monahan,
Boston Herald,
26 Feb. 2026
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Karen was last seen playing outside her home on January 11, 1996, according to CNN affiliate KOLD.—
Elise Hammond,
CNN Money,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Though both storms are similar — with a major storm system lingering over the region for over a day and whipping the region with merciless hurricane-level winds, driving inch after inch of wet snow — what made the 1978 storm so devastating was the apparent suddenness of its arrival.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
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Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers seems to be in pole position, but there is still Cole Palmer at Chelsea, Phil Foden at Manchester City and the lingering conundrum of how Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham fits in.—
Rob Tanner,
New York Times,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Keep the iron moving – never leave it resting in one spot.—
Louise Parks,
Martha Stewart,
19 Feb. 2026
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Also, the lamp has been turned into a miniature homage to cubism (and its lampshade is hovering in the air, not resting on anything).—
Benjamin Lima,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The pair had been loafing for some time among a grove of apple trees on a private residence in Payson.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
20 Feb. 2026
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Within a few moments, an antlerless deer emerged, loafing along toward Ronnie, completely unalarmed.—
Jim Moore,
Outdoor Life,
8 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Malingering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malingering. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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