1
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
2
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
-
Is every head that pokes in to look at me actually Frank himself?—
Shane Kowalski, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
-
The Aries moon pokes holes in old insecurities about competence and productivity.—
Verb
-
Suddenly, Jeff Parker plucks a sighing six-note guitar run, dropping his shoulders into a solo section that carries the tune to its swooning conclusion.—
-
As Natalie walks away from Shayne, possibly for good, and as Venus and some entity named Gabby lunge for each other, Katie Maloney Schwartz Maloney plucks out her earbuds, pulls her sunglasses off her cunty little bob, closes her copy of The Shards, and packs up her bag.—
Verb
-
Today the sprawling complex is a museum and visitor attraction, where a sense of unease lurks along paved tourist trails and lingers in dark corridors.—
-
Early next week, a brief warmup returns highs to the 30s before cooler air likely lingers deeper into mid-January.—
Verb
-
As the moon follows an elliptical path, Saturn’s gravity stretches and squeezes it.—
-
View gallery - 12 images This recently completed tiny house squeezes a lot of living space into a compact footprint using clever design.—
Verb
-
Iwobi’s movement drags Ladislav Krejci wider, increasing the space between the lines and creating a clear passing angle for Calvin Bassey.—
-
This not-quite-title song, which is nearly eight minutes long, is a sort of mini-suite, opening with a dog barking, giving way to an acoustic-guitar melody accompanying polyphonic vocals, then becoming electric and crashingly alive, until the relentless screech of a guitar drags you to the end.—
Verb
-
Blashill wants the Blackhawks to be a fast-pressure team at both ends of the rink, one that attacks vertically but never cheats for offense.—
Verb
-
Since the holidays, many of us have spent winter days cooped up inside, shuttling between work, school and home while the calendar crawls toward spring.—
-
In Elf, while Santa (the late Ed Asner) is setting out toys at an orphanage on Christmas Eve, Buddy (Will Ferrell) crawls into his sack.—
Verb
-
Outerlands stars Dillon as thirtysomething Cass, who hustles jobs as a server, nanny and party drug dealer to make rent on their tiny San Francisco apartment.—
-
While everyone else hustles about, the sloth knows that in slowness there is safety and success.—
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
“Diddles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/diddles. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share