dilly-dally Synonyms

dilly-dally Meaning

Wordnet

dilly-dally (v)

postpone doing what one should be doing

Webster

dilly-dally (v. i.)

To loiter or trifle; to waste time.

dilly-dally Sentence Examples

  1. The children were told not to dilly-dally on their way to school.
  2. The teacher warned the students that they would lose recess if they dilly-dallied during class.
  3. The boss grew impatient with the workers who were dilly-dallying around instead of getting their work done.
  4. The shopper was frustrated by the long line at the checkout counter and began to dilly-dally around the store.
  5. The dilly-dallying of the politician caused the public to lose confidence in his leadership.
  6. The doctor advised the patient to dilly-dally around in bed and not to rush back to work too soon.
  7. The dilly-dallying of the baseball pitcher caused the team to lose the game.
  8. The dilly-dallying of the firefighters allowed the fire to spread and caused considerable damage.
  9. The dilly-dallying of the waiter caused the customers to lose their patience and leave the restaurant.
  10. The dilly-dallying of the tour guide caused the tourists to miss their bus and have to spend an extra night in the city.

FAQs About the word dilly-dally

postpone doing what one should be doingTo loiter or trifle; to waste time.

linger, poke, crawl,delay, drag, stroll, hang fire, drag one's heels, tarry, shilly-shally

whirl, bolt, bolt, run, dash, dash, breeze, rocket, race,hurry

The children were told not to dilly-dally on their way to school.

The teacher warned the students that they would lose recess if they dilly-dallied during class.

The boss grew impatient with the workers who were dilly-dallying around instead of getting their work done.

The shopper was frustrated by the long line at the checkout counter and began to dilly-dally around the store.