shilly-shallying 1 of 3

noun

Definition of shilly-shallyingnext
as in hesitation
a state or an instance of temporary inaction because of uncertainty about the right course of action fortunately, during the crisis there was no shilly-shallying on the part of the president

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

shilly-shallying

2 of 3

adjective

as in ambivalent

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

shilly-shallying

3 of 3

verb

present participle of shilly-shally
1
as in hesitating
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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in delaying
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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shilly-shallying
  1. hesitation
  2. ambivalent
  3. hesitancy
  4. lingering
  5. pause
  6. random
  7. poking
  8. hesitance
Noun
  • For example, a financial services organization rolling out a new product and working to generate sales using only CRM data might overlook early signs of buyer hesitation.
    Eilon Reshef, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
  • The common signs of vision loss include bumping into objects, difficulty finding food or toys, hesitation with jumping, anxiety, clinginess, or even aggression due to vulnerability.
    Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025
Definition of hesitation
Adjective
  • But in a radio interview with Hugh Hewitt the next day, Trump was more ambivalent.
    Howard Gleckman, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
  • Robeson, who was unavailable for the Broadway premiere but played Joe onstage and onscreen for nearly a decade afterward, had a relationship with the song that was ambivalent at best.
    Joshua Barone, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2025
Definition of ambivalent
Noun
  • The actor also supported Chalamet’s hesitancy to disclose details about the transformation.
    Julie Jordan, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024
  • Even following such an uplifting and dominant win, Newcastle’s baffling, up-and-down campaign demands such hesitancy.
    Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 16 Dec. 2024
Definition of hesitancy
Verb
  • Sunday will remain mild with highs near 52 and lingering rain chances.
    Nour Rahal, Detroit Free Press, 24 Dec. 2024
  • In the days since, many people have reported unsafe road conditions and lingering snow — along with uncollected leaf piles from fall leaf collection that were scattered back onto their yards by the snowplows, the council members said.
    Maia Pandey, Journal Sentinel, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of lingering
Noun
  • The previous agreement, in November 2023, furnished only a pause.
    Gershom Gorenberg, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2025
  • High-profile premieres have been canceled, and the city’s once-bustling red carpets are now on pause.
    Shelby Stewart, Essence, 16 Jan. 2025
Definition of pause
Adjective
  • Oh, the third mode is a combination of both – sets of airbags inflate and deflate in seemingly random order – which has been perhaps my favorite setting.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 18 Jan. 2025
  • Go and read random slave narratives and get their experience of the time.
    David Marchese, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
Definition of random
Verb
  • Carter first saw the disease up close in 1988 while visiting a village in Ghana where nearly 350 people had worms poking through their skin.
    Sam Mednick, Chicago Tribune, 30 Dec. 2024
  • At its most basic, a poke cake is made by poking holes into a warm cake and pouring on a frosting or filling mixture.
    Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Dec. 2024
Definition of poking
Noun
  • Sahar Abi-Hassan, an assistant professor in political science at Northeastern University who studies the behavior of the Supreme Court, says the court might side with TikTok for several reasons, including its historical hesitance toward restricting speech.
    Lauren Feiner, The Verge, 9 Jan. 2025
  • Still, Zhu’s hesitance to speak about Shein’s exposure to Xinjiang at the hearing might have been born of pragmatic reasons, or perhaps even strategic ones.
    Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 7 Jan. 2025
Definition of hesitance
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near shilly-shallying

shilly-shally

shilly-shallying

shimmer

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Shilly-shallying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shilly-shallying. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

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

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Top 12 Sophisticated Compliments

Word of the Year 2024 | Polarization

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
See All

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 Word Game 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?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
white rubber duck stands out in a row of yellow ducks
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.