pussyfooting

verb

present participle of pussyfoot
1
as in weaseling
to avoid giving a definite answer or position politicians who try to pussyfoot around hot-button issues

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in lurking
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 pussyfooting 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pussyfooting
  1. waffling
  2. lurking
  3. sneaking
  4. slipping
  5. sliding
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
  • That dream came to a screeching halt six years ago, when a sinkhole tore open that revealed an old mine lurking under Hideaway Hills -- forcing more than a dozen families to flee.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Flanagan’s customary whip pans are here to surprise us with characters lurking outside the frame, but this isn’t a story with many external supernatural threats, and tension doesn’t build.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of lurking
Verb
  • At 15, Mariana de Miguel was already sneaking into Mexico City’s nightlife with a fake ID, saving money to see the bands that shaped her imagination.
    — Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Imagine sneaking into a math library and combing through every mathematical text ever written.
    — Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of sneaking
Verb
  • But a few months later, at her 18-month appointment, the standard graph that plotted a child’s weight against their age showed her weight slipping off the curve.
    — Raj Panjabi, Time, 13 Oct. 2026
  • If one hook isn’t enough to keep the bag from slipping, place another one on the opposite side.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of slipping
Verb
  • The rooms Every single one of the 75 rooms is ocean-facing, with floor to ceiling sliding glass doors framing the view, and leading to private terraces perched above the mangroves.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
  • These twin trends—an aging Leninist system sliding toward one-man rule and mounting political inertia in the face of anything that might trigger social unrest—have eroded China’s governance capacity.
    — Carl Minzner, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of sliding

Browse Nearby Words

pussyfooted
pussyfooting
pussyfoots
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Cite this Entry

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

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