Dawdling — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working

take one's time; proceed slowly

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/dˌɪsɪplˌɪnəbˈɪlᵻɾi/

🇬🇧British English

/dˈɔːdlɪŋ/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dˈɔːdlɪŋ/

2 syllables Say it as /dˌɪsɪplˌɪnəbˈɪlᵻɾi/.

Examples

Get busy--don't dally!

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

lag dalliance dawdle fall back linger dally trifling fall behind

Antonyms

rush

Parts of Speech

noun	the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working
verb	take one's time; proceed slowly
verb	waste time “Get busy--don't dally!”
verb	hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc.

Word Forms

dally	verb	waste time
dawdle	verb	waste time
trifle	verb	waste time; spend one's time idly or inefficiently
dawdler	noun	someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who lags behind
dallier	noun	someone who wastes time
dalliance	noun	the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working
dawdling	noun	the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working
lag	noun	the act of slowing down or falling behind
lagger	noun	someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who lags behind
laggard	noun	someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who lags behind

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

trödeln

der bewusste Akt des Verzögerns und Spielens statt Arbeitens

🇫🇷French

flânerie

l'acte délibéré de retarder et de jouer au lieu de travailler

🇪🇸Spanish

perdiendo el tiempo

el acto deliberado de retrasar y jugar en lugar de trabajar

🇮🇹Italian

bighellonare

l'atto deliberato di ritardare e giocare invece di lavorare

🇳🇱Dutch

treuzelen

de doelbewuste daad van uitstellen en spelen in plaats van werken

🇵🇹Portuguese

vagando

o ato deliberado de atrasar e brincar em vez de trabalhar

🇷🇺Russian

бездельничать

преднамеренный акт отсрочки и игры вместо работы

India

🇮🇳Hindi

डौडलिंग

देरी करने और काम करने के बजाय खेलने का जानबूझकर किया गया कार्य

🇮🇳Tamil

திகைப்பூட்டும்

வேலை செய்வதற்குப் பதிலாக தாமதப்படுத்தி விளையாடும் வேண்டுமென்றே செயல்

🇮🇳Telugu

మొద్దుబారిన

ఆలస్యం చేయడం మరియు పని చేయడానికి బదులుగా ఆడే ఉద్దేశపూర్వక చర్య

🇮🇳Marathi

डौडलिंग

काम करण्याऐवजी उशीर करणे आणि खेळण्याची जाणीवपूर्वक कृती

🇮🇳Gujarati

ડાઉડલિંગ

કામ કરવાને બદલે વિલંબ અને રમવાનું ઇરાદાપૂર્વકનું કાર્ય

🇮🇳Kannada

ದಡ್ಡತನ

ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವ ಬದಲು ವಿಳಂಬ ಮಾಡುವ ಮತ್ತು ಆಡುವ ಉದ್ದೇಶಪೂರ್ವಕ ಕ್ರಿಯೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ഡാഡ്ലിംഗ്

ജോലിക്ക് പകരം താമസിപ്പിക്കുകയും കളിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്ന ബോധപൂർവമായ പ്രവൃത്തി

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

磨蹭

故意拖延和玩耍而不是工作的行为

🇯🇵Japanese

ぶらぶらしている

仕事をせずに遅らせたり遊んだりする意図的な行為

🇰🇷Korean

꾸물꾸물

일을 하지 않고 고의적으로 미루고 노는 행위

🇻🇳Vietnamese

lảng vảng

hành động cố ý trì hoãn và chơi thay vì làm việc

🇹🇭Thai

เดินเตาะแตะ

การจงใจล่าช้าและเล่นแทนการทำงาน

🇮🇩Indonesian

membuang-buang waktu

tindakan sengaja menunda dan bermain alih-alih bekerja

🇵🇭Filipino

nagdadabog

ang sadyang pag-antala at paglalaro sa halip na magtrabaho

🇲🇾Malay

termenung

perbuatan yang sengaja melengahkan masa dan bermain bukan bekerja

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

تباطؤ

الفعل المتعمد المتمثل في التأخير واللعب بدلاً من العمل

🇮🇷Persian

جست و خیز

عمل عمدی تاخیر و بازی به جای کار کردن

🇹🇷Turkish

oyalanmak

çalışmak yerine kasıtlı geciktirme ve oynama eylemi

🇮🇱Hebrew

משתולל

הפעולה המכוונת של עיכוב ומשחק במקום לעבוד

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'dawdling'?

The primary meaning of 'dawdling' is 'the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'dawdling' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'dawdling' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'dawdling' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'dawdling' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'dawdling' in your daily reading?

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In your opinion, does the word 'dawdling' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

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