as in playing
to spend time in aimless activity
I plan to spend the entire vacation just doodling
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Recent Examples of doodling
They were inspired both by the 2023 California Superbloom and memories of doodling flowers while growing up in India.
—
Anthony Paletta, Curbed, 17 May 2026
Amazon Kindle Scribe Deal The Kindle Scribe is for the reader who can't stop doodling in the margins.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 3 Apr. 2026
Seidle sketches out miniature worlds on his Casio with the oblong abstractions of a kindergartener doodling on a piece of paper, his primitive songs existing in a kind of nascent pre-genre state.
—Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 2 Apr. 2026
The design was inspired by the hair-tearing boredom of COVID lockdown-era remote work, a time in which Knafs founder Ben Petersen maintained sanity during Zoom calls by fidgeting around with pocket knives and doodling pictures.
—New Atlas, 26 Mar. 2026
Like a lot of artists, Zard Apuya remembers being the kind of kid who was always doodling or drawing.
—Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
Their two oldest sat behind them in a drab conference room, doodling or staring blankly at the screen.
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC news, 13 Feb. 2026
As always with Gibney’s docs, there’s an abundance of archival material, covering records of Rushdie’s life but also doodling animation, images and film clips that provide a visual correlation to the subject’s thoughts.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 25 Jan. 2026
Loyal Devotion started his journey as an artist, doodling on his schoolwork while a sixth grader at Neal Math and Science Academy middle school in North Chicago.
—Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2026
Anthony Paletta, Curbed, 17 May 2026
Amazon Kindle Scribe Deal The Kindle Scribe is for the reader who can't stop doodling in the margins.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 3 Apr. 2026
Seidle sketches out miniature worlds on his Casio with the oblong abstractions of a kindergartener doodling on a piece of paper, his primitive songs existing in a kind of nascent pre-genre state.
—Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 2 Apr. 2026
The design was inspired by the hair-tearing boredom of COVID lockdown-era remote work, a time in which Knafs founder Ben Petersen maintained sanity during Zoom calls by fidgeting around with pocket knives and doodling pictures.
—New Atlas, 26 Mar. 2026
Like a lot of artists, Zard Apuya remembers being the kind of kid who was always doodling or drawing.
—Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
Their two oldest sat behind them in a drab conference room, doodling or staring blankly at the screen.
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC news, 13 Feb. 2026
As always with Gibney’s docs, there’s an abundance of archival material, covering records of Rushdie’s life but also doodling animation, images and film clips that provide a visual correlation to the subject’s thoughts.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 25 Jan. 2026
Loyal Devotion started his journey as an artist, doodling on his schoolwork while a sixth grader at Neal Math and Science Academy middle school in North Chicago.
—Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doodling
playing
Verb
-
Like Van Ness, Morgan is a former first-round pick who hasn’t yet lived up to that billing but has a chance to do so this season while playing the most pivotal role of his career so far.—
Matt Schneidman,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
-
For the first time in nearly two decades, the Eagle Rock softball team will be playing in a CIF LA City Section title game.—
Justin Vigil Zuniga,
Daily News,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Doodling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doodling. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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