Dillydally — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

postpone doing what one should be doing

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/doʊdˌɛkɐfˈɑːnɪkli/

🇬🇧British English

/dˈɪlɪdəli/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dˈɪlɪdəli/

4 syllables Say it as /doʊdˌɛkɐfˈɑːnɪkli/.

Examples

He did not want to write the letter and procrastinated for days

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

stall procrastinate drag one's feet dilly-dally shillyshally drag one's heels

Parts of Speech

verb	postpone doing what one should be doing “He did not want to write the letter and procrastinated for days”

Word Forms

procrastination	noun	the act of procrastinating; putting off or delaying or defering an action to a later time
procrastinator	noun	someone who postpones work (especially out of laziness or habitual carelessness)
stall	noun	a tactic used to mislead or delay
shillyshally	noun	the act of procrastinating; putting off or delaying or defering an action to a later time
dillydallier	noun	someone who wastes time

Around the World

Europe

🇫🇷French

paresseusement

reporter à plus tard ce qu'on devrait faire

🇳🇱Dutch

dillydaal

uitstellen wat je zou moeten doen

🇷🇺Russian

медлительно

отложить то, что следует сделать

India

🇮🇳Hindi

इधर - उधर होना

जो करना चाहिए उसे स्थगित करना

🇮🇳Tamil

தில்லியில்

ஒருவர் செய்ய வேண்டியதைத் தள்ளிப் போடுங்கள்

🇮🇳Telugu

దిల్లీడల్లీ

చేయవలసిన పనిని వాయిదా వేయండి

🇮🇳Marathi

ढिसाळपणे

एखाद्याने काय केले पाहिजे ते पुढे ढकलणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

હળવાશથી

જે કરવું જોઈએ તે કરવાનું મુલતવી રાખો

🇮🇳Kannada

ದಡ್ಡತನದಿಂದ

ಮಾಡಬೇಕಾದುದನ್ನು ಮಾಡುವುದನ್ನು ಮುಂದೂಡಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ഡില്ലിഡാലി

ഒരാൾ ചെയ്യേണ്ടത് ചെയ്യുന്നത് മാറ്റിവെക്കുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਦਿਲੀ ਨਾਲ

ਉਹ ਕੰਮ ਮੁਲਤਵੀ ਕਰੋ ਜੋ ਕਿਸੇ ਨੂੰ ਕਰਨਾ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

دلیری سے

جو کرنا چاہیے اسے ملتوی کر دیں۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

磨磨蹭蹭

推迟做应该做的事情

🇯🇵Japanese

退屈な

やるべきことを先延ばしにする

🇰🇷Korean

멍청하게

해야 할 일을 미루다

🇻🇳Vietnamese

một cách chậm chạp

trì hoãn việc mình nên làm

🇹🇭Thai

ดิลลี่ดาลลี

เลื่อนการทำสิ่งที่ควรทำออกไป

🇮🇩Indonesian

dengan santai

menunda melakukan apa yang seharusnya dilakukan

Middle East

🇮🇷Persian

دیلیدالی

انجام کاری که باید انجام دهد را به تعویق بیندازید

🇹🇷Turkish

dilli olarak

yapılması gerekeni yapmayı ertelemek

🇮🇱Hebrew

באופן דילידלי

לדחות לעשות את מה שצריך לעשות

Test Yourself1 / 3

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

The primary meaning of 'dillydally' is 'postpone doing what one should be doing'.

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

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

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

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

Community Poll1 / 6

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

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'dillydally' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

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

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'dillydally' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'dillydally' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'dillydally' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted