Synonyms and Antonyms of shilly-shallied
1
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
balanced, dithered, faltered, halted, hesitated, hung back, scrupled, staggered, teetered, vacillated, wavered, wobbled (also wabbled)
hawed, hemmed
dallied, dawdled, delayed, lingered, paused, procrastinated, waited
backed down, chickened (out)
considered, debated, deliberated, pondered, weighed
oscillated, swayed
equivocated, hedged, pussyfooted, waffled
2
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
crawled, crept, dallied, dawdled, delayed, diddled, dillydallied, dragged, lagged, lingered, loitered, lollygagged (also lallygagged), moped, poked, tarried
fiddled (around), fooled around, messed around, monkeyed (around), played, pottered (around), puttered (around), trifled
hung (around or out) (also hanged (around or out)), idled, loafed, lolled, lounged
ambled, eased, inched, lumbered, plodded, sauntered, shuffled, staggered, strolled
decelerated, slowed (down or up)
filibustered, procrastinated, stalled, temporized
bowled, breezed, darted, humped, hurtled, hustled, scrambled, stampeded
galloped, jogged, ran (also chiefly dialectal run), sprinted, trotted
accelerated, quickened, sped (up) (or speeded (up))
caught up, fast-forwarded, outpaced, outran, outstripped, overtook
barreled (or barrelled), bolted, careered, coursed, dashed, flew, hastened, hotfooted (it), hurried, raced, ran (also chiefly dialectal run), ripped, rocketed, rushed, scooted, scudded, scurried, sped (or speeded), tore, whirled, whisked, whizzed, zipped
