dillydally
Americanverb (used without object)
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has dillydalliedperfect 3rd person singular
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have dillydalliedperfect
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have been dillydallyingperfect progressive
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are dillydallyingprogressive
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dillydalliessingular 3rd person
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dillydallyingparticiple
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is dillydallyingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am dillydallyingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been dillydallyingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had dillydalliedperfect
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were dillydallyingprogressive plural
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dillydalliedsimple
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was dillydallyingprogressive singular
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had been dillydallyingperfect progressive
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dillydalliedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of dillydally
First recorded in 1735–45; gradational reduplication of dally
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“We’re talking about war-fighting, national security, and going against a competitor here and a potential adversary that is like nothing we’ve ever seen. And we can’t dillydally around with these deliveries.”
From New York Times • Mar. 24, 2023
Simpson has worked with other directors who don’t dillydally.
From Washington Post • Dec. 19, 2017
Yes she did, and in no mood to dillydally about it, either.
From Time Magazine Archive
I saw that you were tempted by the fear of not seeming a patriot to dillydally with the situation and avoid expressing yourself in perspicuous language.
From Search-Light Letters by Grant, Robert
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
