DIDDLES Synonyms: 157 Similar and Opposite Words

diddles

verb

present tense third-person singular of diddle

as in pokes

to move or act slowly even though the hurricane was fast approaching, federal and local politicians wasted precious time diddling

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in plucks

to rob by the use of trickery or threats an unscrupulous Broadway producer diddles little old ladies by persuading them to invest in a surefire flop

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for diddles

Verb

And yet there’s this piece in the policy which pokes its head [and forces them to find a surrogate in Texas].

— Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 2 Oct. 2026
The International Kazoo Championship pokes a little fun at the rigidity of the main stage.

— David Alm, Longreads, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of pokes

Verb

Trump sometimes plucks memes from a sprawling ecosystem of online conservative supporters, and sometimes his government staff produces them as part of their official messaging.

— Josh Boak, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
His torso and thighs grow eye-poppingly muscular beneath their skimpy fur-and-leather togs—a development that does not go unnoticed by a warrior named Red Hair, who plucks the young hunk from his post and tosses him into the prime time of the gladiator pit.

— Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 15 June 2026

Definition of plucks

Verb

Afternoon highs on Friday are expected to be a much cooler 57 degrees as a 40% chance of rainfall lingers in the area.

— Hali Smith, Idaho Statesman, 20 Oct. 2026
That rinse-clean standard matters for anyone worried about buildup, since a scalp oil that lingers after washing can leave hair looking greasy rather than nourished.

— Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of lingers

Verb

But the strain extends across the Global South, where developing nations struggle with a prolonged energy crisis that disproportionately squeezes the planet’s most deprived.

— Charlie Campbell, Time, 20 Oct. 2026
Meta squeezes two independent light-guiding cores into a single standard glass strand to double its bandwidth.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of squeezes

Verb

Try to keep that in mind the next time your kid drags you to some terrible Star Wars thing that nobody asked for.

— Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 23 Oct. 2026
The deadpan family comedy follows a 63-year-old man who drags nine relatives on a one-day tour of nine temples after a fortune teller warns that his mother will soon die.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of drags

Verb

The move, orchestrated by Everett to satisfy the demands of the company’s top-dollar backers, cheats Michael out of his stock options and equity in the company.

— Senior Television, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Any forward who cheats for defence, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has for much of his career, will play an elevated role on a Babcock team.

— Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 26 June 2026

Definition of cheats

Verb

There’s also a less than 10% chance of showers, if one of the hurricanes crawls farther up the coast, according to Wofford.

— Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Hairy-nosed wombat births are hard to spot, as after about a 30-day pregnancy, the joey crawls into its mother’s pouch.

— Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of crawls

Verb

Jessica Gonzalez hustles behind her booth at the recent Renegade Craft Fair, frantically ringing up sales, answering questions and packaging her beeswax candles.

— Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Despite concerns that chip stocks could be topping out as the industry hustles to boost supply, Wall Street thinks Micron still has plenty of room to run.

— Tobias Burns, CNBC, 22 June 2026

Definition of hustles

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.

Cite this Entry

Style

“Diddles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/diddles. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of diddles

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

milieu

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes