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

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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
  • If someone hesitates, gently restate the goal and offer one reasonable option while staying loyal to your own needs.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 6 July 2026
  • In Spearfish, Yu hesitates over a set of cow grates and dumps her bike at low velocity.
    — Ashlea Halpern, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 July 2026
Definition of hesitates
Verb
  • Chief Estella Patterson told committee members officers have a hard time determining the exact age of juveniles without an ID, which delays the investigation and prolongs police interactions.
    — Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer, 14 July 2026
  • Baron is a credible villain who can give Trick and Melo someone to feud with, which delays their inevitable feud.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
Definition of delays
Verb
  • The system implemented by the National Weather Service falters mathematically when both the temperature and humidity are particularly high.
    — Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 3 July 2026
  • And once performance falters, customers are likely to lose faith in your brand.
    — Brian Coyne, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of falters
Verb
  • Vinha dos Utras is extremely dry, with hints of gunpowder and salinity, and very fresh, with an acidity that lingers.
    — Forbes.com, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
  • Lee builds a drone that simply lingers in the background, moving the way a morning breeze might, then plays against it.
    — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 20 July 2026
Definition of lingers
Verb
  • Seltz’s system crawls hundreds of millions of pages a day, and returns results in under 200 milliseconds.
    — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 24 June 2026
  • At sunset, the city starts glowing around you while traffic crawls silently below.
    — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 28 May 2026
Definition of crawls
Verb
  • Raimundo Orsi, Italy vs Czechoslovakia, 1934 Orsi drags Italy level with nine minutes to go, controlling a bouncing ball and turning superbly in the box to fire past Czech goalkeeper and captain Frantisek Planicka.
    — Adam Hurrey, New York Times, 17 July 2026
  • Overall, the plan is on par with a request the White House submitted to Congress last month, as the Iran war drags past four months.
    — Kevin Freking, Fortune, 15 July 2026
Definition of drags
Verb
  • The second is a vent which pokes out above your clothes, to move warm air away from you.
    — David Phelan, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026
  • Perched on a finger of land that pokes into Lebanon, Metula is usually crowded with tourists this time of year.
    — Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 23 June 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 23 Jul. 2026.

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