as in delighted
to take part in an activity in a superficial way
She dabbled in drawing and painting but sculpture was her favorite medium.
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Recent Examples of dabbled
The star has dabbled in acting with a role in the Prime Video series Swarm.
—
Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 11 Mar. 2026
Brown, a running back, was USC’s primary kick returner as a freshman and dabbled in the return game at Arizona State last season.
—David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 9 Mar. 2026
Whereas Safdie and Anderson stayed on one speed throughout, Coogler experimented with and dabbled in tempo and covered so many innovative subjects — music, horror, history, civil rights, comedy and more.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 9 Mar. 2026
Many of Minnesota's large health care institutions have relied on telemedicine and only dabbled in home care.
—Kate Wells, NPR, 5 Mar. 2026
Her parents dabbled in a backyard garden for a few years, too.
—Mary Grace Granados, Dallas Morning News, 3 Mar. 2026
In his youth, Eskow dabbled in piano, electric guitar and classical guitar and eventually earned a master’s degree in music theory at Queens College in New York.
—Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Feb. 2026
Justin has also dabbled in fashion design over the years, cofounding Drew House in 2019 before the launch of his latest project, Skylrk, last year.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 14 Feb. 2026
While OpenAI has dabbled in a number of revenue models, including digital advertising, Anthropic has tailored Claude products to be a workplace assistant on tasks such as software engineering.
—Matt O'Brien, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2026
Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 11 Mar. 2026
Brown, a running back, was USC’s primary kick returner as a freshman and dabbled in the return game at Arizona State last season.
—David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 9 Mar. 2026
Whereas Safdie and Anderson stayed on one speed throughout, Coogler experimented with and dabbled in tempo and covered so many innovative subjects — music, horror, history, civil rights, comedy and more.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 9 Mar. 2026
Many of Minnesota's large health care institutions have relied on telemedicine and only dabbled in home care.
—Kate Wells, NPR, 5 Mar. 2026
Her parents dabbled in a backyard garden for a few years, too.
—Mary Grace Granados, Dallas Morning News, 3 Mar. 2026
In his youth, Eskow dabbled in piano, electric guitar and classical guitar and eventually earned a master’s degree in music theory at Queens College in New York.
—Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Feb. 2026
Justin has also dabbled in fashion design over the years, cofounding Drew House in 2019 before the launch of his latest project, Skylrk, last year.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 14 Feb. 2026
While OpenAI has dabbled in a number of revenue models, including digital advertising, Anthropic has tailored Claude products to be a workplace assistant on tasks such as software engineering.
—Matt O'Brien, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dabbled
Verb
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The comparison likely delighted Israel’s longest-serving leader, whose supporters rapidly shared the article on social media.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
6 Mar. 2026
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On a weekend morning at the San Jose Mylapore, when my husband and I waited in a line that lasted over an hour, the staffers brought us a tray containing small cups of agathi keerai rice, a delicious, hunter green mix that delighted us.—
Kalpana Mohan,
Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Not so Grace, who always seems aware of an audience on the other side of the movie screen, waiting to be entertained.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
-
There are games galore to keep children entertained, plus a fabulous kid’s den on the top floor of the house with a huge TV and bed-like sofas.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Following in the footsteps of social-media-savvy churches such as Hillsong, in Los Angeles, Mercy Culture had a worship band that played earnest, anthemic rock, and its pastors wore skinny jeans.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
15 Mar. 2026
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The Wild played a second consecutive game without forward Bobby Brink, who was injured and scored a goal in his home debut with the Wild last Tuesday versus Utah.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Chinese-speaking netizens were amused by the story, and in particular the absurd display of cops escorting the diminutive android.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Padilla breaks a few times, channeling Heidi Gardner, and the crowd gets amused.—
Andy Hoglund,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Meek lives with her dad, Smooch (Will Cobbs), a former Black Panther who now runs a roller rink, and her not-to-be-trifled-with grandma, Puddin (Lizan Mitchell).—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dabbled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dabbled. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
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