shilly-shallies

verb

present tense third-person singular of shilly-shally
1
as in hesitates
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 delays
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-shallies
  1. hesitates
  2. delays
  3. falters
  4. lingers
  5. crawls
  6. drags
  7. pokes
Verb
  • Smear certainly finds Ides of March star Clooney, who never hesitates to put his politics and star power to work, and the rest of the cast stepping into some deep, murky and often digital waters.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Deanna hesitates, still wounded by the estrangement, but opens the house again.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of hesitates
Verb
  • If supply chain volatility delays those transformers, the impact extends beyond construction sequencing.
    — Jayashree Arunkumar, Forbes.com, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Unexcused absences in three consecutive elections freeze tax IDs, block nonvoters from applying to state jobs, hinders loans from state banks, and delays the issuance of passports.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of delays
Verb
  • However, turning advanced materials from lab success into commercial products often falters at the production stage, where slow manufacturing and harsh chemical inputs make mass production prohibitively expensive and unsafe.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2026
  • The Clemson junior from Rienzi, Mississippi is chasing a football career, but if that falters might chose to follow his parents into the military.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of falters
Verb
  • Onshore flow lingers on Tuesday, then begins to lessen on Wednesday.
    — Felix Rodriguez, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The smoke seeps deep into the meat and lingers on the skin, with a crackly brown surface punchy with cinnamon, allspice, ginger and thyme.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of lingers
Verb
  • There’s also a less than 10% chance of showers, if one of the hurricanes crawls farther up the coast, according to Wofford.
    — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Hairy-nosed wombat births are hard to spot, as after about a 30-day pregnancy, the joey crawls into its mother’s pouch.
    — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawls
Verb
  • But if the war drags on and the cost of necessities like gas and groceries continues to rise, that could be a problem.
    — Annie Martin, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Nov. 2026
  • The research agency, ORF Middle East, said that support for tourism businesses and efforts to restart events could become harder to sustain if the conflict drags on.
    — Inzamam Rashid, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of drags
Verb
  • And yet there’s this piece in the policy which pokes its head [and forces them to find a surrogate in Texas].
    — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The International Kazoo Championship pokes a little fun at the rigidity of the main stage.
    — David Alm, Longreads, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of pokes
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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shilly-shallied
shilly-shallies
shilly-shally
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Cite this Entry

“Shilly-shallies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shilly-shallies. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

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