shilly-shallied

verb

past tense of shilly-shally
1
as in hesitated
to show uncertainty about the right course of action I didn't shilly-shally but instead raced to the hospital as soon as I heard the news

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in delayed
to move or act slowly with dinner guests due in two hours, there was no time to shilly-shally in front of the TV set

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shilly-shallied
  1. hesitated
  2. delayed
  3. faltered
  4. lingered
  5. dragged
  6. crawled
  7. poked
Verb
  • Incumbents hesitated, but young and diverse civic-minded men and women jumped at a chance to compete on a level playing field for state offices.
    — Elona Vaisnys, Hartford Courant, 9 Aug. 2026
  • When Kimmel hesitated when guessing Spaghetti & Meatball, Affleck and Ding called upon Ding’s trivia partner Stephen Morrison, who opted not to answer.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2026
Definition of hesitated
Verb
  • According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, 45% of flights in and out of Chicago O'Hare International Airport were delayed on Tuesday, and 10% were canceled.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Each step introduces friction — points where patients may be delayed, confused, or lost in the process entirely.
    — Jeffrey Millstein, STAT, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of delayed
Verb
  • Apartment values appear to have faltered in Oakland, an economic erosion that has unleashed loan delinquencies and even foreclosures in a growing number of instances.
    — George Avalos, Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • But in Sunday’s matchup against the Portland Thorns, that unit faltered in a major way.
    — Greg Dudek, Boston Herald, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of faltered
Verb
  • Still, as the audience streamed out of the concert courtyard, earlier words from Finom lingered.
    — Katherine Turman, Rolling Stone, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Others from albums like 2024’s All Life Long sustained a spell that lingered.
    — Andy Battaglia, ARTnews.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of lingered
Verb
  • One of English football’s most historic names had been dragged to the brink under previous owner Dejphon Chansiri last season — into administration and almost beneath the surface.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • No, it’s being dragged by two large straps and rolling along on a quintet of wheels, stuffed with dirty laundry or maybe this week’s groceries.
    — Max Berlinger, Vogue, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of dragged
Verb
  • Traffic crawled at a creep along Independence Boulevard in those days.
    — DJ Simmons, Charlotte Observer, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Seven hid under a kitchen chest freezer while five crawled on the wall next to the three-compartment sink.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawled
Verb
  • In the 2024 playoffs, Carrington poked Fever phenom Caitlin Clark in the eye.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Offering a clever twist, the warm cake is poked with the handle of a wooden spoon, creating space for a vanilla-pineapple pudding to sink deep into the crumb.
    — Erin Merhar, Southern Living, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of poked
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

shills
shilly-shallied
shilly-shallies
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Cite this Entry

“Shilly-shallied.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shilly-shallied. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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