Definition of pussyfootnext
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as in to lurk
to move about in a sly or secret manner pussyfooting through the hallways in the middle of the night

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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 pussyfoot 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, 2 Apr. 2026 Several of these involve a furtive religious cult known as the Scars — its adherents have a way of pussyfooting through the forest and doing absolutely horrible things to nonbelievers. — Tom Gliatto, People.com, 12 Apr. 2025 No less than Werner Herzog remade Murnau’s masterpiece in 1979, starring Klaus Kinski as the bald-headed bloodsucker; rather than pussyfoot around the whole rip-off-or-not aspect, the former doubles down and names the character Count Dracula. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Dec. 2024 The results of this pussyfooting around are mixed, for everyone involved. — Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pussyfoot
Verb
  • In fact, the former Duchess is said to be returning to the UK and trying to weasel her way back into the royal family.
    — Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 27 Sep. 2026
  • From there, the Giants remained deadlocked in a 1-1 tie until the 10th, though San Francisco’s relievers had to weasel their way out of trouble to keep the game tied.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 8 June 2026
Verb
  • There’s not a dark shadow with a monster lurking in it to be found anywhere in the film.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026
  • As two formidable women go head-to-head, their battle for the soul of Longview exposes the secrets, resentments, and desires lurking beneath its picture-perfect surface.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • It was announced on Saturday that Judkins and QB Deshaun Watson had been fined a cool $14,397, while guard Austin Barber, who also snuck a hit off of the invisible blunt, had to pony up $6,944.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Miami rebounded by winning its final four games to sneak into the 12-team playoff field before making a run all the way to the CFP National Championship Game.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 11 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Police continued searching the home and found rat and mouse feces throughout, rotting food on the kitchen counter covered with flies and other bugs, and maggots in standing water in the kitchen sink.
    — Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026
  • Transitioning to mouse mode by simply placing the controller on a table made a potentially confusing input so much more intuitive.
    — Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 5 June 2025
Verb
  • When OpenAI went from o1-preview to o1, its score on a competition math exam rose roughly 30 points, while its score on a broad general-knowledge test (Massive Multitask Language Understanding, or MMLU) slipped a point and a half.
    — Dhyey Mavani, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • His National Film Board of Canada film goes beyond numbers to humanize the Iranian-Canadian victims of Flight PS752 who have long slipped from news headlines, even as their families continue an uphill battle to hold Iran accountable.
    — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The album slides between styles surprisingly smoothly and with a remarkable assurance; a raft of collaborators contribute production (primarily Bartees Strange, Grammy winner Mike Elizondo and Avis Reese) but there’s no question who’s in charge.
    — Jem Aswad, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Videos from the event showed the ring propped up in a pool with wrestlers slipping and sliding in the ring and taking bumps into the water.
    — Ryan Gaydos OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Pussyfoot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pussyfoot. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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