stalling 1 of 2

adjective

1
as in blocking

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words
2
as in procrastinating

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

stalling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of stall
1
as in halting
to bring (something) to a standstill endless complaints stalled the process of selecting the winning design for the memorial

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dying
to stop functioning the engine stalls sometimes when it's very cold outside

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of stalling
Adjective
The tense talks continued into a second day but concluded without progress, in a diplomatic effort that seemed little more than another stalling game for Putin. — Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Tribune, 20 Feb. 2026 Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows promised swift action and vowed to brook no more stalling tactics from Democrats. — Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 19 Aug. 2025
Verb
Their replacements arrived three weeks late because of capsule repairs, stalling this crew’s homecoming. — Marcia Dunn, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026 The memoir also details Cooper’s crippling, career-stalling struggles with substance abuse during the late ‘70s and goes into depth about his subsequent re-embrace of Christianity and his current beliefs and practices. — Gary Graff, Billboard, 6 Oct. 2026 Tropical disturbance in the Gulf Coast Rain is expected to continue in central Florida, where a stalling frontal system is now draped. — ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026 With broader crypto legislation stalling in Congress, regulators are exerting their existing powers to address individual parts of the market, said Jeff Ko, chief analyst at blockchain infrastructure service provider ViaBTC. — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026 The result is a more effective change with fewer rumors needing correction, fewer objections stalling adoption and fewer managers left to improvise for their teams. — John Radman, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026 Similar legislation failed to pass in 2023 after stalling in a committee hearing and in 2018 after pushback from the American Civil Liberties Union. — Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 30 Sep. 2026 The first round could arrive as early as tomorrow night for places along I-80, with the line of showers stalling out along I-80. — Ron Smiley, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026 Several of those penalties came at crucial moments, repeatedly stalling drives and preventing FIU from putting points on the board. — Alejandro Hernandez, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stalling
  1. blocking
  2. decelerating
  3. halting
  4. dying
  5. slowing
  6. stopping
  7. crashing
  8. catching
Adjective
  • The winner was the player who avoided being blocked the longest — a blocking game, a category of strategy game where the objective centers on restricting your opponent’s movement.
    — Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 19 Feb. 2026
Definition of blocking
Adjective
  • The stock has declined nearly 28% in 2026, largely due to concerns over the social media platform’s decelerating year-over-year traffic growth and its sensitivity to macroeconomic conditions.
    — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 21 Apr. 2026
Definition of decelerating
Verb
  • After fumbling twice in Michigan State territory, halting offensive momentum, the Bruins were trailing going into the second quarter and tied 7-7 with three minutes left in the second quarter.
    — Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Democrats used the tools available to force votes that GOP leadership tried to avoid — on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files and halting the Iran war.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of halting
Verb
  • At the sites of deadly accidents, people have reported the sound of a pickaxe or the groans of a dying man.
    — Marcus Librizzi, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Bart cries wolf the morning after dreaming about dying in a bus crash, but no one believes him.
    — Joshua Kurp, Vulture, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of dying
Adjective
  • And, through it all, stocks have continued to steadily rise, buoyed by hopes for Fed rate cuts, stronger-than-expected corporate earnings and slowing but stubborn confidence that an AI boom might reap big rewards for investors.
    — John Towfighi, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2025
Definition of slowing
Verb
  • But Pollard was ruled down just outside the end zone in the second quarter, and Cleveland turned the Titans over on downs with Maliek Collins stopping Pollard on fourth-and-goal.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
  • But there's nothing stopping users from posting images or videos made with third party filters to the platform — or onto TikTok and Instagram, for that matter.
    — Chloe Veltman, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of stopping
Verb
  • Thursday rain flips direction As the cyclone moves over land Thursday, showers that were moving out of the south will flip and begin crashing in out of the north, this time with less energy and moisture to keep rainfall sustained for long.
    — Sean Macaday, Sacbee.com, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The Kool-Aid man never comes crashing through the wall; there’s no cameo from Big Red’s kissing couple.
    — Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of crashing
Verb
  • Peltola is a gun-owning, fish-catching Alaska-bush native, who has worked for mines and supports oil drilling, and is allied with the state’s largest labor unions.
    — Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But for audiences outside North America, catching Nathan Fielder’s three-hour documentary about disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes — now expected to be a major player in awards season — has become a frustrating waiting game.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of catching

Browse Nearby Words

stalled
stalling
stallion
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

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
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All