as in entertaining
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in delighting
to take part in an activity in a superficial way
She dabbled in drawing and painting but sculpture was her favorite medium.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dabbling
Alayna Alvarez, Axios, 31 Mar. 2025
Success doesn’t come from dabbling in a dozen different directions.
—Melissa Houston, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025
His father, Jean-Philippe, was a basketball player and after dabbling in basketball and soccer, Fils chose tennis.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2025
Clones are as much a sci-fi staple as robots, spaceships, and time travel, with every major franchise dabbling with duplicates somewhere down the line.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dabbling
Verb
Thanks to wetland protections, dabbling and diving duck populations have jumped 24% since 1970, while waterbirds are up 16%, per the report.
—Alayna Alvarez, Axios, 31 Mar. 2025
Success doesn’t come from dabbling in a dozen different directions.
—Melissa Houston, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025
His father, Jean-Philippe, was a basketball player and after dabbling in basketball and soccer, Fils chose tennis.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2025
Clones are as much a sci-fi staple as robots, spaceships, and time travel, with every major franchise dabbling with duplicates somewhere down the line.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dabbling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dabbling
Adjective
-
In Mexico, Pachuca is considered an entertaining team that tends to appeal to neutrals.—
Felipe Cardenas,
New York Times,
8 June 2025
-
Is the dead spot in an area that is infrequently used and not part of your immediate entertaining space?—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 June 2025
Adjective
-
Fred looked, well, a little goofy and the explosion wasn't nearly as impressive.—
Joe Salas
June 07,
New Atlas,
7 June 2025
-
Primus specialize in bass-heavy, off-kilter rock with a goofy sense of humor.—
Ross Raihala,
Twin Cities,
2 June 2025
Verb
-
Then something strange happened — the Falcons started playing like one of the best defenses in the league.—
Josh Kendall,
The Athletic,
26 Dec. 2024
-
Deion Sanders began his NFL career with the Falcons in 1989, also playing baseball for the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves well into the 1990s.—
Dan Pompei,
The Athletic,
26 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
So, that was also fun to play with those levels of calibration.—
Adam B. Vary,
Variety,
9 June 2025
-
The desserts—made by the pastry chef Mariah Neston, who is worth paying attention to—are jazzy and sophisticated and fun.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
8 June 2025
Adjective
-
The application must be grounded in real fears of persecution or danger, as frivolous applications can lead to long-term negative immigration consequences.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Miami Herald,
19 May 2025
-
This culminated with an executive order demanding that the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security investigate former administration officials who pushed back against Trump’s frivolous claims that the 2020 election was stolen.—
Mike Fox,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2025
Adjective
-
The post prompted a chorus of amusing responses from commenters.—
Toria Sheffield,
People.com,
7 June 2025
-
Instruct large language model for a quick, amusing tutorial on how to solve a Rubik’s Cube.—
Dave Altavilla,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
Adjective
-
Alas, during one night siege (silly enough to not scare the little ones, even as the entire village repeatedly goes up in flames), Hiccup aims his weapon at the shape of a Night Fury (no one, we’re told repeatedly, as ever really seen one), shoots, and … what!—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
9 June 2025
-
Still, sometimes Forrest’s demands seemed nitpicky, silly even.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
8 June 2025
Adjective
-
Frankly, the more trifling the crime, the better this franchise’s comedy aspirations would work.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2025
-
With that much water needed for even the most trifling tasks, the natural question becomes: How does that water reach those data centers, let alone the world’s farms and factories?—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
28 May 2010
Cite this Entry
“Dabbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dabbling. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share