as in hesitation
a state or an instance of temporary inaction because of uncertainty about the right course of action
fortunately, during the crisis there was no shilly-shallying on the part of the president
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in ambivalent
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in hesitating
to show uncertainty about the right course of action
I didn't shilly-shally but instead raced to the hospital as soon as I heard the news
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in delaying
to move or act slowly
with dinner guests due in two hours, there was no time to shilly-shally in front of the TV set
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shilly-shallying
Noun
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Taking small steps toward dating and being open to new experiences can help break the cycle of hesitation.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025 -
But as the weeks passed, Minnie's initial hesitation turned into affection.—
Tom Rogers,
Newsweek,
22 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The Russian oil industry and government have always been ambivalent about sharing wealth with foreign investors.—
Stanley Reed,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2025
-
Like anyone who’s converted a hobby into a career, Vaughn is ambivalent about his influence.—
Rachel Monroe,
The New Yorker,
22 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Nothing has been said officially in this regard, but perhaps some of the apparent hesitancy of coaches or Concacaf representatives to speak publicly on the matter in the immediate aftermath was based on speculation that the likely true nature of events involved some sort of misunderstanding.—
Ian Nicholas Quillen,
Forbes,
4 Mar. 2025
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And Patton’s memorable opening speech hints at the film’s hesitancy about turning men into myths.—
Will Leitch,
Vulture,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Sunday will remain mild with highs near 52 and lingering rain chances.—
Nour Rahal,
Detroit Free Press,
24 Dec. 2024
-
In the days since, many people have reported unsafe road conditions and lingering snow — along with uncollected leaf piles from fall leaf collection that were scattered back onto their yards by the snowplows, the council members said.—
Maia Pandey,
Journal Sentinel,
24 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Reuters reported that a senior USAID official wrote in a March 2 internal memo that a yearlong pause in USAID’s work on health, food and agriculture in the world’s poorest countries would raise malaria deaths by 40%, to between 71,000 and 166,000 annually.—
Christian Ruth,
The Conversation,
5 Mar. 2025
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How Trump’s trade war could hit your wallet After earlier threats and a last-minute pause in February, President Trump’s North American trade war has begun while the tariff battle with China escalated.—
Ryan Fonseca,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Webroot can securely erase files for you, overwriting them with random data three times, by default.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
7 Mar. 2025
-
The results derived from a random sampling of 1,004 adults aged 18 and over living in all 50 states, based on phone interviews, with a margin of error plus or minus four percent and with a 95 percent confidence level.—
Tommy Tuberville,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Carter first saw the disease up close in 1988 while visiting a village in Ghana where nearly 350 people had worms poking through their skin.—
Sam Mednick,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Dec. 2024
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At its most basic, a poke cake is made by poking holes into a warm cake and pouring on a frosting or filling mixture.—
Sarah Martens,
Better Homes & Gardens,
29 Dec. 2024
Noun
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This patience and hesitance to pay up when the market looked good in early trading has served us well so far.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
27 Feb. 2025
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President-elect Trump is encountering some unlikely openness from Democrats — and hesitance and confusion from Republicans — with his talk of acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal.—
Andrew Solender,
Axios,
9 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Shilly-shallying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shilly-shallying. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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