shilly-shallied

verb

past tense of shilly-shally
1
as in hesitated
to show uncertainty about the right course of action I didn't shilly-shally but instead raced to the hospital as soon as I heard the news

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in delayed
to move or act slowly with dinner guests due in two hours, there was no time to shilly-shally in front of the TV set

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shilly-shallied
  1. hesitated
  2. delayed
  3. faltered
  4. lingered
  5. dragged
  6. crawled
  7. poked
Verb
  • Teammates excitedly jumped off the bench, then hesitated when Thiero’s right knee appeared to buckle awkwardly under him.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Montgomery hesitated in front of Lee before cutting inside to leave Lee one-on-one with a defender streaking toward the end zone.
    — PJ Green September 27, Kansas City Star, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of hesitated
Verb
  • Oura was just one of several IPOs that have been delayed over the past month.
    — Morgan Chittum, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2026
  • In the same week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman unveiled Dots, the company pulled its latest AI model and delayed its IPO due to existential safety concerns around the very same AI agent tech.
    — Amy O’Brien, Vogue, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of delayed
Verb
  • Current Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has faced intense scrutiny as the state’s insurance market has faltered and has pushed through a series of changes in recent years to try and stabilize it.
    — Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Coca-Cola is seeking to unwind its $5 billion acquisition of a British coffeehouse, months after a sales process faltered earlier this year.
    — Leah Quinn, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of faltered
Verb
  • Many students lingered afterward, to vent and console one another.
    — Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Guests lingered over cocktails, lauding Ghesquière’s formidable creative prowess, personal warmth and loyalty.
    — Miles Socha, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of lingered
Verb
  • In that case, too, Erica and Peter not only lived nine months rent-free in the apartment until, as the case dragged on, a judge ordered them to start paying for use of the space, but Erica also criticized the conditions there.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The Department of Homeland Security initially said the agent was dragged by Villegas Gonzalez' vehicle and then shot Villegas Gonzalez in self-defense.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of dragged
Verb
  • In a historic first, two olive ridley sea turtles crawled out of the sea within the second week of September and laid their eggs in pits of sand in Seal Beach and Huntington Beach.
    — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The technology isn’t perfect, Walsh said; if Gus had crawled beneath a bush to sleep, the camera wouldn’t necessarily find him.
    — Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of crawled
Verb
  • Bellingham poked in Gordon's cross midway through the first half.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
  • George Lombard singled in a run, Jazz Chisholm poked one through the right side, Trent Grisham got a bunt down for a hit, knocking Crochet out of the game without getting an out.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of poked
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

shills
shilly-shallied
shilly-shallies
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shilly-shallied.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shilly-shallied. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of Luddite

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All