DIDDLING Synonyms: 159 Similar and Opposite Words

diddling

verb

present participle of diddle

as in delaying

to move or act slowly even though the hurricane was fast approaching, federal and local politicians wasted precious time diddling

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as in cheating

to rob by the use of trickery or threats an unscrupulous Broadway producer diddles little old ladies by persuading them to invest in a surefire flop

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for diddling

Verb

And more people are entering the system than leaving it, delaying help for newly homeless families.

— Nicole Santa Cruz, ProPublica, 9 Oct. 2026
Though profits and revenue growth have generally been strong this year, the IPO market has stalled, with Oura and Bamboo Insurance delaying their offerings last month.

— Morgan Chittum, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of delaying

Verb

His political career, which included a spell as the Conservative Party’s deputy chairman, was interrupted by a period in prison in 2001 after he was found guilty of lying and cheating in a 1987 libel case against The Daily Star newspaper.

— Jake Kanter, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2026
For practical purposes, the games belong to the house and the house gets to decide what’s cheating and what isn’t.

— Kit Chellel, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of cheating

Verb

Sometimes only the tips of the reeds and the seed heads were visible, poking above the murky water, and other times the reeds stood fully exposed, with a clear view of crabs clambering around their bases.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
Video posted to social media showed one car nearly submerged, with just its sunroof poking above the water, as people moved other vehicles farther from the rising tides.

— Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of poking

Verb

But an owners representative claims that part of the problem was Erica and Peter dragging their feet on providing backup documents for their application package.

— Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 8 Oct. 2026
Another video shows two men beating and dragging a man into a car.

— Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of dragging

Verb

LLMs are great at finding blowups that exist—at searching the infinite landscape of fluid scenarios and plucking out the precise situation that breaks the equations.

— Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2026
Fortunately, many dahlia insect problems in September can be solved by walking through the garden in the morning and plucking the offending insects off the plants by hand, then dropping them into a container of soapy water.

— Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of plucking

Verb

While Beverly Hills and West Hollywood bounced back after the pandemic, Santa Monica continues to struggle with retail vacancies and lingering economic woes.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
The rich tomato sauce brought plenty of flavor, the Italian sausage added a savory bite and the Calabrian peppers gave the dish a lingering heat without overwhelming everything else.

— Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of lingering

Verb

After hustling in the industry for the better part of a decade, her profile has completely exploded over the past few months.

— Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026
Devers, who finished with three hits, eschewed his power for small ball in the fifth, laying down a surprise bunt for a single, then hustling home on Susac’s sacrifice fly.

— Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 31 July 2026

Definition of hustling

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“Diddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/diddling. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of diddling

verb

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