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
  • The French back line hesitated for a brief second, anticipating a potential foul, but Porro pressed the advantage and side-footed a shot past Mike Maignan in the 58th minute for the backbreaking goal.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 July 2026
  • Family described him as a kind and humble man who worked hard and never hesitated to help others.
    — Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026
Definition of hesitated
Verb
  • Negotiations started months before the expiration date, Acree said, but were delayed in good faith because of new leadership at the helm.
    — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 15 July 2026
  • More than half of Chinese clean-tech investments in the US announced since 2022 have been canceled, paused, or delayed.
    — Tasneem Nashrulla, semafor.com, 14 July 2026
Definition of delayed
Verb
  • Trial diversity faltered after the administration purged all references to DEI from the websites of its agencies and in much of its research.
    — Helen Branswell, STAT, 6 July 2026
  • Erdoğan’s rise as a nationalist leader As Turkey's economy slowed and regional ambitions faltered, Erdoğan pivoted once again.
    — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of faltered
Verb
  • At the Pfizer building on East Forty-second Street, earlier this week, disaster, and the sense of excitement that disaster can create, lingered.
    — D. T. Max, New Yorker, 11 July 2026
  • Because the problem lingered, the break presented an opportunity to address it before the second half.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
Definition of lingered
Verb
  • Two men dragged a third into the emergency room and laid him on the floor, according to footage shown in court.
    — Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026
  • His efforts dragged him into a love triangle with Annis and her former partner, Corbin Mims, which ultimately left Caleb single ahead of Casa Amor, the show’s midseason twist.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 10 July 2026
Definition of dragged
Verb
  • Hull testified that Robinson later returned in different clothing, walking with a limp, rolled onto the roof of a building on campus and crawled to the edge of the rooftop around the time the shot was fired.
    — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 10 July 2026
  • Their father dismounted, went down on foot, climbed the fence his son had crawled under.
    — Emily Ruskovich, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026
Definition of crawled
Verb
  • After a scrappy passage of play in which Morocco failed to clear their lines, Desire Doue poked a loose ball to Mbappe on the left edge of the area.
    — Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 9 July 2026
  • But Ecuador’s Gonzalo Plata stuck up his left foot, just in front of Neuer, and poked the ball into the net.
    — Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 27 June 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 17 Jul. 2026.

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