as in idled
to pretend to be sick or injured in order to avoid doing work
Because of his frequent absences, his boss suspected he was malingering.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malingered
Verb
-
Last Tuesday, as the minute hand ticked toward the end of the initial cease-fire, Vance’s plane idled on the runway, ready to fly him to peace talks in Pakistan.—
Michael Scherer,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026 -
Days passed and bombs kept falling, while oil tankers idled on either side of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had effectively closed in retaliation for the war launched by Israel and the United States.—
Ishaan Tharoor,
New Yorker,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Giants’ position really, really messed us up in trying to even negotiate with Oakland.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The Rock Hall just messed this one up.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
He had been fooled a couple of times by the slider during the sequence but didn’t miss the third one Sasaki threw him.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Mbappé broke the deadlock in the 30th minute with a shot that deflected on an Alaves defender and fooled goalkeeper Antonio Sivera.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Celtics played without Tatum after he was ruled out about 90 minutes before tipoff with left knee stiffness.—
Kyle Hightower,
Chicago Tribune,
3 May 2026
-
Meanwhile, Ella was explaining to my mother why the teacher had sent a note home with her and recounting how her friend Stacy had played kitchen with a new girl during free time at school and allowed Ella to join them only for the cleanup part.—
Chang-rae Lee,
New Yorker,
3 May 2026
Verb
-
Their first meeting in 2015, a tactical Mayweather victory in one of the most lucrative bouts in boxing history, has lingered as a stubborn footnote in Pacquiao’s otherwise untouchable résumé.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The sauce, poured tableside, gave a spicy kick to the dish, and the heat of the serranos lingered on the palate.—
Heidi Finley,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Kecia Steelman has certainly not rested on her laurels since stepping into the top job at Ulta Beauty in January 2025.—
Kathryn Hopkins,
Footwear News,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Instead, Furman found that because Comey's firing rested on Article II of the Constitution, not a federal law governing the civil service, the federal court has jurisdiction to hear the case.—
Melissa Quinn,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Officer Rory lets Greg go, but the combination of the walk and thinking about his daughter’s predicament has bummed him out.—
Erin Qualey,
Vulture,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Rittenhouse admits to initially being bummed out to not be the murderer, only to quickly come around to preferring this outcome.—
Derek Lawrence,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Jan. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Malingered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malingered. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
