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 an employee hesitates or overcommits, avoid making assumptions or asking defensive questions.
    — Julie Kratz, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Your vehicle hesitates when shifting gears A short pause or delay between pressing the gas and your car responding is an early sign of transmission trouble.
    — Michael Kurko, USA Today, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of hesitates
Verb
  • Tennis has always been highly dependent on the weather; unlike in soccer or football, rain cancels or delays a match until the court is dry enough to be playable.
    — Aaron Short, Curbed, 3 Sep. 2026
  • But a provision that delays for one month a federal ban on intoxicating hemp THC products has prompted criticism from many GOP lawmakers.
    — Kevin Freking, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of delays
Verb
  • American military resources are stretched and political pressure in Washington is mounting, while Iran’s economy falters.
    — David Rising, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
  • This leadership vacuum raises serious questions about the agencies' ability to craft meaningful crypto rules, especially if the Senate's Clarity Act vote falters.
    — Cleve Mesidor, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of falters
Verb
  • That lingers in the existence of the Transportation Security Administration and the general hardening of security measures in society overall.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The heartbreak of last year's football playoffs exit still lingers around North Crowley.
    — Jaylon Shoots, CBS News, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of lingers
Verb
  • 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
  • Researchers have developed a new control framework that enables humanoid robots to perform agile movements, including army crawls, breakdancing and backflips.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawls
Verb
  • Burkhart added that if the trade war drags on, businesses will face far greater risks and consumers — already facing difficulties keeping up with inflation and higher fuel prices — will face a greater challenge with the cost of living.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The move drags romance into spaces once reserved for a workout or a self-care Sunday.
    — Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of drags
Verb
  • Adults’s Gen-Z characters tend to see their comforts as transient, their identities as mutable, and seriousness as an annoying obligation, all of which the second season pokes at a bit.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Even in the bathrooms, the toilet and bidet are concealed inside a kind of Travertine bench and the showerhead pokes out from a monolithic stone slab.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Aug. 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
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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 Sep. 2026.

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