SHILLY-SHALLIED Synonyms: 137 Similar and Opposite Words

shilly-shallied

verb

past tense of shilly-shally

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shilly-shallied

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

Left unhandled, each one turns into a person fixing an issue or an order getting delayed.

— Shivansh Inamdar, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
Despite rising infant deaths tied to Lucy Letby’s shifts, hospital leaders delayed suspending her and calling police, allowing further attacks before her eventual arrest and conviction.

— Brian Melley, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of delayed

Verb

Other elements of this team that were so strong last year also faltered, from pass protection to the tight ends to Davante Adams to the run defense and overall pass rush.

— Matt Barrows, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Many musicians have faltered when trying to follow their first, most famous song.

— Katie Heaney, Vulture, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of faltered

Verb

While hunting for his missing wife, Marissa, Hale is dragged through an escalating nightmare of environments that loop, warp and rebuild themselves from his own memories and trauma.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
At that point, six men dressed in black and wearing masks emerged from their vehicles, dragged the Chetals from their car and led them to the van, where Chetal’s father was beaten with a metal baseball bat, breaking his arm.

— Jesse Hyde, Rolling Stone, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of dragged

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

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shills

shilly-shallied

shilly-shallies

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“Shilly-shallied.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shilly-shallied. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of shilly-shallied

verb

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