weaseling

verb

present participle of weasel
as in waffling
to avoid giving a definite answer or position the polite guest chose to weasel rather than admit that he didn't like the meal

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for weaseling
  1. waffling
  2. shaking
  3. hedging
  4. equivocating
  5. ducking
  6. dodging
  7. pussyfooting
  8. fudging
Verb
  • The tournament’s special status — its unwillingness to place any person above the sport — is part of why Williams wanted to play singles, not just doubles with her sister Venus, after waffling on the decision.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 30 June 2026
  • Nothing kills momentum faster than waffling on a big decision.
    — Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2026
Definition of waffling
Verb
  • The chance to honor her legacy made for a poignant coincidence for an evening devoted to female power, and a reminder that, however much has changed since Steinem first began shaking things up, there is still plenty to do.
    — Tiziana Cardini, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026
  • That doesn’t make their hooting, teeth-baring, chest-beating, or branch-shaking any less of an act of communication.
    — Mike McRae September 02, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of shaking
Verb
  • Sidney is hedging his words in ever more delaying parentheses.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Senate Democrats and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are hedging their bets on victories in red states – Iowa, North Carolina, Texas, Ohio and yes, Alaska – to help flip the upper chamber and hand back control to the party.
    — Jay Stahl, USA Today, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of hedging
Verb
  • This was after much pressing and equivocating, number one.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026
  • But the judge’s equivocating ruling in that piracy case created a loophole, according to Anthropic’s lawyers.
    — James Folta, Literary Hub, 6 Feb. 2026
Definition of equivocating
Verb
  • Paxton has so far failed to hold large campaign events and is ducking debates.
    — Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Store employees are seen ducking for cover as more shots are fired.
    — Aziza Shuler, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of ducking
Verb
  • One TikTok of the scrappy piggy dodging cars and darting between would-be animal rescuers’ legs racked up nearly a half million views.
    — Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026
  • At the time, Interpol was constantly dodging comparisons to Joy Division with their angular guitar stabs and Paul Banks’ distinct baritone that reminded some of Ian Curtis.
    — David Harris, SPIN, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of dodging
Verb
  • Fragments of story are fed to us, but there’s no forward thrust, just a lot of pussyfooting around.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Alright Genesis, the time for pussyfooting is over.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Apr. 2026
Definition of pussyfooting
Verb
  • Like, in the movie version, the person playing Raffensperger might be fudging results while eating his catered lunch.
    — Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 16 July 2026
  • For some of these inquiries, the read-in-between-the-lines accusation was that Neon is fudging the numbers.
    — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 21 Apr. 2026
Definition of fudging
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.

Browse Nearby Words

weaseled (out of)
weaseling
weaseling (out of)
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Cite this Entry

“Weaseling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/weaseling. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

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