DAWDLED Synonyms: 150 Similar and Opposite Words

dawdled

verb

past tense of dawdle

as in delayed

to move or act slowly if you continue to dawdle, we'll be late for sure

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in lazied

to spend time doing nothing accused the city council of dawdling even as the crime rate was spiraling out of control

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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.

Recent Examples of dawdled But, lucky for anyone who dawdled, many of the deals are still active. — Adam Campbell-Schmitt, Bon Appetit Magazine, 27 June 2026 Flight attendants turned into drill sergeants, barking at passengers who flouted mask rules or dawdled too long eating that snack with the mask off. — Thomas Black, Twin Cities, 21 Dec. 2025 Fava snuffled and dawdled and took her own sweet time up the sidewalk. — Dan Kois, New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dawdled

Verb

But technical and regulatory hurdles repeatedly delayed certification of the largest version of Boeing's bestselling 737 family.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026
Results were delayed after late openings forced more than 100 polling stations to extend voting hours Monday.

— CBS News, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of delayed

Verb

In one mirror selfie, Hurley lounged on a bed with her bare legs on display, holding up her phone as the oversized ring sparkled on her finger.

— Danielle Minnetian, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
During virtual meetings, Brower and Simone, who are in their mid-30s, appeared on screen while Primrose lounged on their shoulders or heads.

— KYLE MELNICK THE WASHINGTON POST, Arkansas Online, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of lounged

Verb

Others idled at the edge of the firelight while the red lights of a surveillance blimp blinked over the mountains to the east.

— Ryan Devereaux, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2026
The Brampton Assembly Plant, which was previously slated to build the Jeep Compass before Stellantis moved the product out of Canada in 2025 to avoid tariffs, has been idled since 2023.

— Liam Rappleye, Freep.com, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of idled

Verb

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
In real-world tests, the hand crawled across 14 different surfaces including smooth floors, metal grates, grass, and gravel.

— Edd Gent, IEEE Spectrum, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of crawled

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“Dawdled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dawdled. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of dawdled

verb

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