dalliance

noun

dal·​li·​ance ˈda-lē-ən(t)s How to pronounce dalliance (audio)
Synonyms of dalliance
: an act of dallying: such as
a
: play
especially : amorous play
had several dalliances before getting married
b
: frivolous action : trifling
had a brief dalliance with acting

Synonyms of dalliance

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of dalliance in a Sentence

an extremely serious scientist who is not much given to dalliance or idle chitchat
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Stokes, meanwhile, at least has runs under his belt from his two-day dalliance with his county side. — Hector Vickers, New York Times, 21 June 2026 For most of the people, there are some love triangles and dalliances and some broken hearts along with a lot of tension between a lot of the crew. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 8 June 2026 In between glistening, shirtless crunches and sexy dalliances, Crown’s motives become clearer. — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 16 Apr. 2026 Eurovision 2026 isn’t Austria’s first dalliance with music’s campiest spectacle. — Connor Sturges, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for dalliance

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dalliance was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

dalli
dalliance
Dallis grass
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dalliance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dalliance. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

dalliance

noun
dal·​li·​ance ˈdal-ē-ən(t)s How to pronounce dalliance (audio)
1
: play entry 1 sense 2
especially : the act of flirting
2
: action lacking in importance or seriousness
a short dalliance with politics

More from Merriam-Webster on dalliance

Nglish: Translation of dalliance for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All