Synonyms of dawdle

dawdle

verb

ˈdȯ-dᵊl 

1

as in to delay

to move or act slowly

if you continue to dawdle, we'll be late for sure

Synonyms & Similar Words

• delay
• linger
• crawl
• drag
• poke
• stroll
• loiter
• lollygag
• creep
• mope
• play
• lag
• tarry
• shuffle
• diddle
• mark time
• lallygag
• fall behind
• stall
• hang fire
• dillydally
• drop behind
• shilly-shally
• lounge
• stagger
• idle
• drag one's heels
• saunter
• dally
• take one's time
• amble
• drag one's feet
• trifle
• fool around
• fiddle (around)
• procrastinate
• hang (around or out)
• decelerate
• putter (around)
• temporize
• potter (around)
• loaf
• monkey (around)
• slow (down or up)
• mess around
• loll
• plod
• ease
• inch
• lumber
• filibuster

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hurry
• rush
• course
• race
• hasten
• scurry
• run
• fly
• speed
• career
• tear
• scoot
• rocket
• rip
• whirl
• dash
• whisk
• breeze
• scramble
• bolt
• zip
• hustle
• hurtle
• dart
• run
• barrel
• gallop
• hump
• stampede
• jog
• trot
• whiz
• whizz
• accelerate
• sprint
• scud
• hotfoot (it)
• quicken
• speed (up)
• overtake
• outrun
• bowl
• catch up
• outstrip
• outpace
• fast-forward

2

as in to lazy

to spend time doing nothing

accused the city council of dawdling even as the crime rate was spiraling out of control

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lazy
• stroll
• idle
• laze
• lounge
• relax
• bum
• dillydally
• chill
• rest
• play
• kill time
• goof (off)
• hang (around or out)
• linger
• kick back
• poke
• loll
• veg out
• loaf
• dally
• hack (around)
• muck
• hang about
• mess
• drone
• loiter
• footle
• piddle
• saunter
• fool
• twiddle one's thumbs
• amble
• kick around
• trifle
• mosey
• aestivate
• fiddle (around)
• doze
• monkey
• tarry
• lag
• hibernate
• putter (around)
• estivate
• potter (around)
• malinger
• goldbrick
• truant
• swan
• furlough

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• work
• slave
• toil
• plod
• labor
• grind
• hustle
• sweat
• plow
• plug
• apply
• hump
• drudge
• buckle (down)
• peg
• grub
• exert
• travail
• moil
• put out

Synonym Chooser

How is the word dawdle different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of dawdle are dally, delay, lag, loiter, and procrastinate. While all these words mean "to move or act slowly so as to fall behind," loiter and dawdle imply delay while in progress, especially in walking, but dawdle more clearly suggests an aimless wasting of time.

loitered at several store windows

children dawdling on their way home from school

Where would dally be a reasonable alternative to dawdle?

The words dally and dawdle can be used in similar contexts, but dally suggests delay through trifling or vacillation when promptness is necessary.

stop dallying and get to work

When might delay be a better fit than dawdle?

The meanings of delay and dawdle largely overlap; however, delay usually implies a putting off of something (such as a beginning or departure).

we cannot delay any longer

In what contexts can lag take the place of dawdle?

While in some cases nearly identical to dawdle, lag implies failure to maintain a speed set by others.

lagging behind in technology

When is procrastinate a more appropriate choice than dawdle?

The synonyms procrastinate and dawdle are sometimes interchangeable, but procrastinate implies blameworthy delay especially through laziness or apathy.

procrastinates about making decisions

Examples of dawdle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Just don’t dawdle—the summer drop of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins are only available while supplies last. —Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 July 2024

The raccoon survived and remained briefly in the backyard before slowly dawdling away. —Steve Hartman, CBS News, 5 July 2024

These workplace distractions are just one piece of the puzzle of a broken workplace culture that prizes looking productive and dawdling over redundant, menial tasks over actual efficiency and collaboration, according to Annie Dean, leader of software firm Atlassian’s Team Anywhere. —Bysasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 3 July 2024

To experience the entirety of some of his objects, viewers have to dawdle around and through them, crane their necks, or move farther away, forcing anyone who cares to actively confront the rusty-looking husks. —Zoe Guy, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2024