Antonyms for dawdle


Grammar : Verb
Spell : dawd-l
Phonetic Transcription : ˈdɔd l


Definition of dawdle

Origin :
  • 1650s, perhaps a variant of daddle "to walk unsteadily." Perhaps influenced by daw, because the bird was regarded as sluggish and silly. Not in general use until c.1775. Related: Dawdled; dawdling.
  • verb delay; waste time
Example sentences :
  • They go from the school-room to the rum saloons, and dawdle away the rest of the day.
  • Extract from : « Ester Ried Yet Speaking » by Isabella Alden
  • And they did not dawdle; the poor old woman was packed in, in the time one takes to sneeze.
  • Extract from : « L'Assommoir » by Emile Zola
  • We did not dawdle over his affairs, nor did we shrink from any work to which he challenged us.
  • Extract from : « Anabasis » by Xenophon
  • Easy for sleepers to dawdle with words and say carelessly life is this, life is that.
  • Extract from : « Erik Dorn » by Ben Hecht
  • If we succeeded in getting what we had come after there would be plenty of time to dawdle.
  • Extract from : « The Pirate of Panama » by William MacLeod Raine
  • Johnnie Green got to thinking so intently about the matter that he began to dawdle.
  • Extract from : « The Tale of Snowball Lamb » by Arthur Bailey
  • There was method in the way in which Laurence had sought to dawdle away the morning.
  • Extract from : « The Sign of the Spider » by Bertram Mitford
  • Geddie went into his office and sat down to dawdle over his report.
  • Extract from : « Cabbages and Kings » by O. Henry
  • You all know when you learn with a will, and when you dawdle.
  • Extract from : « The Crown of Wild Olive » by John Ruskin
  • He was too much alarmed and too full of the responsibility of his position to dawdle.
  • Extract from : « Paul the Courageous » by Mabel Quiller-Couch

Synonyms for dawdle

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019