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
  • Smith hesitated, Davis said, and Anderson grabbed the weapon and opened fire.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Some in Europe hesitated when the United States launched its war on Iran without consulting them.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of hesitated
Verb
  • Magyar's predecessor, Viktor Orbán, was an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who repeatedly delayed or blocked European Union sanctions on Russia and pursued energy deals with Russia.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Jennings completed 26 of 36 passes for a career-best 430 yards and three touchdowns as SMU (1-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) outlasted the Seminoles in a game that was delayed nearly two hours due to a power outage at Doak Campbell Stadium.
    — Associated Pess, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of delayed
Verb
  • Wednesday’s ugly loss, in which Yoshinobu Yamamoto faltered after a strong start and the Dodgers crumbled late despite taking a 3-0 first-inning lead, was the latest example.
    — Joaquin Ruiz, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • In the rest of the state, Graham prevailed — including in the Charleston area, where former governor and congressman Mark Sanford endorsed Norman after his own Senate campaign faltered.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of faltered
Verb
  • But despite Rexha’s rousing encore, her question still lingered.
    — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 7 Sep. 2026
  • In this case, the shark — which Gauna believes to be a roughly 9-foot juvenile — lingered within arm’s length of the swimmer, circling him several times.
    — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of lingered
Verb
  • One smashed in the front passenger window while others approached the driver‘s side door and dragged him outside.
    — Jenny Jarvie Follow, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Technology stocks dragged the market lower, with the Nasdaq Composite sliding by around 1%.
    — Justina Lee,Alex Harring, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of dragged
Verb
  • Each tool sharpened one department, and the work still crawled between them, because nobody was ever asked to own the crawling.
    — Krupesh Bhat, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
  • One roach crawled on glassware in the dishwashing area and eight were under the dishwasher.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawled
Verb
  • Better together Industry analysts, experts and insiders have consistently poked holes in the states' argument that the combination of TV networks would create antitrust issues.
    — Lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 24 Aug. 2026
  • So too were the buildings, including my hotel, which poked through the seven-foot-high snowbanks, looking like an ancient shipwreck covered in shifting sand.
    — Adam H. Graham, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 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.

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Cite this Entry

“Shilly-shallied.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shilly-shallied. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

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