dally

verb

dal·​ly ˈda-lē 

dallied; dallying

intransitive verb

1

a

: to act playfully

especially : to play amorously

b

: to deal lightly : toy

accused him of dallying with a serious problem

2

a

: to waste time

b

: linger, dawdle

dallier noun

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The Evolution of Dally

English speakers have been futzing around with dally since the late Middle Ages. They first started using it to mean "to chat," which was also the meaning of dalier, the Anglo-French word whence it came, but this sense fell into disuse. Next, they applied it to acting playfully with someone especially in amorous and flirtatious ways (the noun dalliance, meaning "an act of dallying," is to this day often used for situations where people get all smoochy and whatnot). The idea of more figurative flirtatiousness soon led to a sense of dally meaning "to deal with lightly or in a way that is not serious." Finally, by the mid-16th century, perhaps because fuddy-duddies saw all of this fun and frivolity as a waste of time, dally gained the additional meanings of "to waste time" and "to dawdle."

Synonyms

• disport
• frolic
• play
• recreate
• rollick
• skylark
• sport
• toy

Choose the Right Synonym for dally

trifle, toy, dally, flirt, coquet mean to deal with or act toward without serious purpose.

trifle may imply playfulness, unconcern, indulgent contempt.

to trifle with a lover's feelings

toy implies acting without full attention or serious exertion of one's powers.

a political novice toying with great issues

dally suggests indulging in thoughts or plans merely as an amusement.

dallying with the idea of building a boat someday

flirt implies an interest or attention that soon passes to another object.

flirted with one fashionable ism after another

coquet implies attracting interest or admiration without serious intention.

companies that coquet with environmentalism solely for public relations

delay, procrastinate, lag, loiter, dawdle, dally mean to move or act slowly so as to fall behind.

delay usually implies a putting off of something (such as a beginning or departure).

we cannot delay any longer

procrastinate implies blameworthy delay especially through laziness or apathy.

procrastinates about making decisions

lag implies failure to maintain a speed set by others.

lagging behind in technology

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

dally suggests delay through trifling or vacillation when promptness is necessary.

stop dallying and get to work

Examples of dally in a Sentence

The two of us dallied over our coffee that morning.

Recent Examples on the Web

As is so often the case for Hong, his latest is a gentle, hypnotically watchable film that breezes by as Iris does herself, dallying around Seoul in a loose summer dress and her striking bright-green cardigan. —David Opie, IndieWire, 21 Nov. 2024

Lonergan is dallying intentionally in territory that might be tough to stomach if a director or an actor took themselves too seriously. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2024

Their dallying tartness charts an ongoing conversation on the renowned love affair of sour and spice in Mexican cuisine — one worth celebrating. —Andrea Aliseda, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2024

And then there’s her day job, as a receptionist at her art-school alma mater, to pay her landlord, who dallies on fixing the heater. —Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 22 June 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English dalyen, from Anglo-French dalier

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing dally

• dally with

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Kids Definition

dally

verb

dal·​ly ˈdal-ē 

dallied; dallying

1

: to act playfully : trifle

2

a

: to waste time

dally at one's work

b

: linger sense 1, dawdle

dally on the way home

dallier noun