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

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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
  • Valkyria hesitated for a split second and Bayley took advantage.
    — Ryan Gaydos OutKick, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Defenders hesitated between hedging and switching, allowing screeners to slip toward the rim.
    — C.J. Holmes, New York Daily News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of hesitated
Verb
  • The twins still face state rape charges in Miami, and their trial has been delayed as prosecutors awaited the federal case sentencing in Manhattan.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The trip was going to be delayed and the team wouldn’t be home until the early morning hours.
    — Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of delayed
Verb
  • The gold exhausted by the mid-1920s, the mines faltered and then closed, the miners left and the burros stayed, turned loose to make their own way in the desert.
    — Harry Bruinius, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Both stocks faltered even though the full data which was released Thursday appeared meaningful for patients and positive relative to Wall Street expectations.
    — Paulina Likos, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of faltered
Verb
  • Concerns lingered even though later studies showed the benefits of today’s hormone therapies outweigh the risks for many women.
    — Laura Ungar, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Unaccompanied minors entering the state hit a peak of 1,441 in 2021 and lingered above 1,000 each year until last year.
    — Sasha Allen, Hartford Courant, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of lingered
Verb
  • Gutierrez allegedly dragged his girlfriend out of their home and into the street at gunpoint on Monday, where he was promptly arrested by his fellow officers.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Dalí’s body has not been dragged from the grave, but a version of him has been put to work, his likeness shaped and molded to fit the desires of another.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of dragged
Verb
  • Giamanco crawled in through a shot-out window, reached the special education classroom and reracked his firearm in preparation for a deadly confrontation.
    — David K. Li, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026
  • In May 2025, after Williams shut off the water in a cell, 10 inmates removed a toilet, crawled through a gap in the wall and scaled a fence out of the jail.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of crawled
Verb
  • Kessler, standing nearby during Williams’ postgame news conference, poked his head out from behind a black curtain and gave his teammate a thumbs-up.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Already poked, the league bear hasn’t exactly gone into hibernation, either.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 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 4 Nov. 2026.

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