as in minor
lacking importance
you should delegate these fiddling matters to your staff so that you can focus on more important issues
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in fidgeting
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
1
as in twitching
to make jerky or restless movements
the executive fiddled with a pen as she impatiently waited for the meeting to begin
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cheating
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
conscienceless grifters who had spent their lives fiddling the naive
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fiddling
PC Magazine, 13 Oct. 2025
Now scientists have found that, with a little fiddling, the feathers can be adjusted to turn flashes of light into laser beams.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 5 Aug. 2025
Life’s hard enough, and if facial fiddling is music to your ears, have at it.
—Valerie Monroe, Allure, 21 Feb. 2025
The fiddling pays off when the fresh herb vinaigrette dresses a mix of Iceberg lettuce and one of the mixed greens combos sold in the marketplace.
—Cathy Thomas, Orange County Register, 13 Jan. 2025
Saturday Fiddle Contest: 11 a.m. at Alyeska Pipeline Colony Stage
Grab your fiddle and play a tune or just check out some of the state’s best sawing on their instruments in a number of categories, including youth, teen, open and twin fiddling.
—Chris Bieri, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Aug. 2023
With more time on her hands, Henderson has been learning improvisation, bluegrass fiddling and improvisation.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Nov. 2020
Again, no fiddling.
—Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY, 26 Sep. 2020
Such is always the case with this sort of self-interested fiddling.
—Eric Gordy, Foreign Affairs, 10 Oct. 2018
Keith Phipps, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
The party that fails this test will be remembered — if at all — as the one fiddling while Rome was automated.
—Matt K. Lewis, Twin Cities, 19 Aug. 2025
Haggard was fiddling on the new strings when Marian, Dad’s mother, who’d taken over as the store’s bookkeeper, walked by.
—Nancy Walecki, The Atlantic, 7 Aug. 2025
Noun
For those deep in the Apple ecosystem who want headphones that just work without all the fiddling, the Beats Solo 4 make sense with a 25% discount.
—Verb
But in private, Arthur advises her to exercise a little more discretion in her, um, fiddling.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for fiddling
Adjective
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The most minor miscalculation can botch a landing.—
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Its versatile uses range from nourishing the lips to minor wound care—helping maintain hydration along the way.—
Noun
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Canines might be stressed and anxious, which can be shown through panting, whining, barking, pacing or fidgeting.—
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That fit may cut down on mid-session fidgeting during a video call or while answering a quick text.—
Verb
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His eye is twitching, just a little.—
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In a heartbreaking video, a partially paralyzed dog is caught twitching his paws in his sleep, and internet users can’t stop sobbing.—
Verb
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Contessa’s Corner Sports leagues, state gambling regulators and tribal leaders have all raised concerns that prediction market trades on sports don’t have the same level of guardrails as sportsbooks to protect against cheating by athletes, referees, coaches and other insiders.—
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The predictions were that unleashing AI to the world at large would lead to an exponential rise in cheating at school and that student essays would cease to be original.—
Adjective
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The founders argue that automation should be accessible to smaller operators, including neighborhood bars and private event spaces.—
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There can be 30 minutes of small waves before a sneaker wave strikes.—
Noun
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Throughout the writhing and the screaming, Julia’s fortitude wears down a defiant Davina, whose history with Lovat feeds the moment.—
Verb
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Instead of tossing your cords into your carry-on and hoping for the best, keep your tech essentials organized with this compact $10 electronics organizer from Fyy.—
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Montana State players jumped around at midfield, some tossing their helmets, to celebrate the team’s first national championship since 1984.—
Verb
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The Bagail 6-piece Compression Packing Cube Set is just $19 and a game-changer for squeezing extra outfits into a carry-on.—
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To check for ripeness, start by squeezing the fruit—ripe mangos should give slightly under pressure without feeling overly soft or mushy.—
Cite this Entry
“Fiddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fiddling. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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