Synonyms of dally
80 similar words
Another word for dally is dilly-dally. Other synonyms of dally are caress, worship, dawdle, footle and while.
Synonyms and similar words for dally
verbTo waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness; to trifle.
- dawdleTo spend time idly and unfruitfully; to waste time.
- dilly-dallyTo dawdle; to waste time; to procrastinate.
- arse aboutTo turn round.
- arse aroundTo behave in a clownish, irresponsible or inefficient manner.
- bludge Australia, slang
- bum aroundTo wander around idly to no purpose; to loaf or loiter.
- cabbage slang
- clown aroundTo have fun in an irresponsible manner.
- dick aboutSynonym of dick around.
- dick aroundTo waste time on an unproductive activity.
- diddle
- dretch Scotland
- faff
- faff aboutTo waste time; to spend time idly.
- faff aroundSynonym of faff about.
- fanny about
- fanny around
- fart aboutTo waste time, or to fool about.
- fart aroundTo waste time, or to fool about.
- fiddle aboutSynonym of fiddle around.
- fiddle around
- fool aboutTo fool around.
- fool around
- footleTo waste time; to trifle.
- forslow
- goof aroundTo fool around.
- goof off
- hang about
- hang around
- hang out
- horse aroundTo engage in horseplay.
- idle
- jerk off vulgar
- lallygag
- lamp slang
- laze
- laze aboutTo do nothing in particular; to be idle.
- laze aroundTo do nothing in particular; to be idle.
- linger
- loaf
- loaf aboutTo do nothing in particular; to be idle.
- loaf aroundTo do nothing in particular, be idle.
- loiter
- lollop
- lollygag
- mess around
- mill aboutTo move or circulate in a confused or disorderly manner within a limited area.
- mill aroundTo move or circulate in a confused or disorderly manner within a limited area.
- muck about
- muck aroundTo muck about.
- piddle
- pingle dialectal
- stand byTo do nothing. To be inactive in a situation.
- tarry
- tool aroundTo spend one's time idly.
- waste timeTo allow time to elapse in an unproductive manner.
- while
- drumble obsolete
verbTo caress, especially of a sexual nature; to fondle or pet.
- feel upTo grope someone, especially someone's breasts, in a sexual manner.
- grope
- touch up
- canoodleTo caress, fondle, or pet (someone); also, to have sexual intercourse with (someone); to make love with.
- caressTo touch or kiss lovingly; to fondle.
- cosset
- dandle
- dawt UK, dialectalTo fondle or caress.
- faddle UK, dialectal
- fondle
- grabbleTo touch (someone) with one's hands or fingers, sometimes in a sexual way.
- pet
- pettle UK, dialectalTo fondle or pet; to pamper.
- shift Ireland, slangTo engage in sexual petting with.
- tiddle UK, dialectal
- worshipTo touch, fondle, or kiss in an intensely sensual way.
- chuckle archaic
- coax obsoleteTo fondle, kid, pet, tease.
- fond obsolete
- nantle obsolete
- smuggle obsolete
verbTo delay unnecessarily; to while away.
- kill timeTo engage in an activity whose only purpose is to make the time seem to pass more quickly; to fill the time between...
Meaning of dally
- verb To waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness; to trifle.
- verb To caress, especially of a sexual nature; to fondle or pet.
- verb To delay unnecessarily; to while away.
dally in other languages
Questions about synonyms of dally
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: dally (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Synonyms of dally.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/dally. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.