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
-
The transcripts moved with her, idling among her papers.—
Michael Schulman,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025 -
Difficulty accelerating, misfiring, shuttering, and rough idling can indicate bad gasoline.—
Kamron Sanders,
Better Homes & Gardens,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The last two seasons have proven that the team starts off slow, which ends up messing their chances of making the playoffs.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Anyone who predicted this Titans team to win more than four or five games was fooling themselves, and even those predictions are coming off over-optimistic.—
Nick Suss,
Nashville Tennessean,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Either Michigan is fooling everyone in college football, or the Wolverines are fooling themselves.—
Austin Meek,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
Nobody will hold Gjoshe to his hopeful timescale of playing again within a month.—
Philip Buckingham,
New York Times,
8 Nov. 2025
-
What's the most difficult part of playing a character like Peter?—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The overnight storm was likely triggered by a glancing CME arrival that combined with lingering effects from a high-speed solar wind stream, according to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
6 Nov. 2025
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Indeed, households, especially low-income ones, still face challenges affording basic goods and services due to lingering high prices.—
Jason Phillips,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Working group member and LJCPA trustee Patrick Ahern said the space would be used more for resting or a place to talk rather than recreation.—
Ashley Mackin Solomon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Nov. 2025
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After a moment, with the puck resting behind Hellebuyck and just in front of the goal line, Smith poked it across for his sixth goal of the season.—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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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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She is seen going over the shots planned for the next day and remembering that some loafing around is planned.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
5 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Malingering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malingering. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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