as in minor
lacking importance
you should delegate these fiddling matters to your staff so that you can focus on more important issues
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in fidgeting
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in twitching
to make jerky or restless movements
the executive fiddled with a pen as she impatiently waited for the meeting to begin
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cheating
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
conscienceless grifters who had spent their lives fiddling the naive
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fiddling
Valerie Monroe, Allure, 21 Feb. 2025
The fiddling pays off when the fresh herb vinaigrette dresses a mix of Iceberg lettuce and one of the mixed greens combos sold in the marketplace.
—Cathy Thomas, Orange County Register, 13 Jan. 2025
Such is always the case with this sort of self-interested fiddling.
—Eric Gordy, Foreign Affairs, 10 Oct. 2018
Saturday Fiddle Contest: 11 a.m. at Alyeska Pipeline Colony Stage
Grab your fiddle and play a tune or just check out some of the state’s best sawing on their instruments in a number of categories, including youth, teen, open and twin fiddling.
—Chris Bieri, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Aug. 2023
Again, no fiddling.
—Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY, 26 Sep. 2020
With more time on her hands, Henderson has been learning improvisation, bluegrass fiddling and improvisation.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Nov. 2020
This camera snaps great pics on the fly, with just a touch more fiddling required for focus at times, versus say the Pixel 7 Pro.
—Dave Altavilla, Forbes, 10 Feb. 2023
This is consistent with data manipulation, actual fiddling of the results, which is outright fraud - although there are some more benign possibilities.
—Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 27 Mar. 2014
Noun
Life’s hard enough, and if facial fiddling is music to your ears, have at it.
—Valerie Monroe, Allure, 21 Feb. 2025
The fiddling pays off when the fresh herb vinaigrette dresses a mix of Iceberg lettuce and one of the mixed greens combos sold in the marketplace.
—Cathy Thomas, Orange County Register, 13 Jan. 2025
Such is always the case with this sort of self-interested fiddling.
—Eric Gordy, Foreign Affairs, 10 Oct. 2018
Saturday Fiddle Contest: 11 a.m. at Alyeska Pipeline Colony Stage
Grab your fiddle and play a tune or just check out some of the state’s best sawing on their instruments in a number of categories, including youth, teen, open and twin fiddling.
—Chris Bieri, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Aug. 2023
Again, no fiddling.
—Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY, 26 Sep. 2020
With more time on her hands, Henderson has been learning improvisation, bluegrass fiddling and improvisation.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Nov. 2020
This camera snaps great pics on the fly, with just a touch more fiddling required for focus at times, versus say the Pixel 7 Pro.
—Dave Altavilla, Forbes, 10 Feb. 2023
This is consistent with data manipulation, actual fiddling of the results, which is outright fraud - although there are some more benign possibilities.
—Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 27 Mar. 2014
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fiddling
Adjective
-
Aftershocks are typically minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.—
William B. Davis,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
-
The incident, while ultimately only a minor one, did impact the rest of their vacation.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
And no, this isn’t some cheating scandal or love triangle.—
Chris Branch,
The Athletic,
31 Dec. 2024
-
Niemann, who had previously admitted to cheating in online games, denied Carlsen's allegations.—
Kerry Breen,
CBS News,
28 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
The Liberals' smallest lead was in a poll conducted by Innovative Research among 1,548 Canadian citizens, which showed the party with a lead of just 2 points, on 36 percent to the Conservatives' 34 percent—a lead within the poll's 3 percent margin of error.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
-
In a display of gallows humor at the sloppiness of the leaders’ theoretically clandestine communication, people online quickly turned those symbols into memes, and renamed their own chats Houthi PC small group.—
Kyle Chayka,
The New Yorker,
26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Governed by a growth mindset devoted to the logic of disruption, moving fast and breaking things, a flourishing structure of feeling about AI and art history has sprung up on the grounds of very little AI-and-art-history to have feelings about.—
Sonja Drimmer,
Artforum,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Instead Doom: The Dark Ages is flatly colored, with little contrast, and less visually interesting enemies that tote around cruel looking shields simply for the sake of the setting.—
Kazuma Hashimoto,
Rolling Stone,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
After three consecutive drives ended in a punt following Rodgers’ interception, the 41-year-old led the Jets down the field, tossing his first touchdown pass since Week 16 and the 500th of his career.—
C. Isaiah Smalls II,
Miami Herald,
6 Jan. 2025
-
Before tossing them in the trash, check in with your local homeless shelter, food pantry, or other non-profit as these organizations often have need for travel-sized toiletries.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
3 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Making one bet at a slight little edge is not going to have a huge effect on someone's bracket.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
20 Mar. 2025
-
Here, again, there were slight differences in the responses when broken down by party affiliation.—
Brendan Rascius,
Miami Herald,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
This is indeed a car that will reward you for hustling it down a twisty road should the desire arise.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
3 Jan. 2025
-
And for Lil Baby, one of the hottest artists out at the moment, the transition from hustling in the streets of Atlanta to earning over $100 million in record deals and endorsements came with a harsh financial wake-up call.—
Kimberly Wilson,
Essence,
23 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
In his younger days, Wilson would use his excellent mobility to turn those plays into four- and five-yard scrambles.—
Charlotte Carroll,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
-
The Sacramento Bee 916-321-1193 Cathie Anderson covers economic mobility for The Bee’s Equity Lab.—
Cathie Anderson,
Sacbee.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fiddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fiddling. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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