dallying

Dragging one's feet

Dallying is lingering or wasting time, often with a sense of playful delay or romantic flirtation.

Someone who dallies moves slowly when they should be moving on: Stop dallying and get to work.

To dally with an idea is to consider it without commitment.

To dally with a person suggests casual romantic involvement: He'd been dallying with his secretary.

delay

procrastinate

Delay action unnecessarily

dawdleLinger without purpose
tarryDelay one's leaving
lingerStay beyond necessity

loiter · stall · postpone · defer · drag · hesitate · shilly-shally · temporize · dither · idle

flirtation

flirt

Playfully attract attention

coquetteTeasing, insincere charmer
teaseMock playfully
coyAffectedly modest

flirtation · banter · amorous · wink · charm · seduce · enticing · allure · tempt · coquetry

leisurely

ambling

Walking without urgency

saunteringWalking in unhurried manner
meanderingFollowing a winding course
strollingWalking at ease

moseying · lollygagging · pottering · wandering · browsing · drifting · unhurried · languid · lazy · idling

Categories

delaysdelays, delay, delayed, postponement, postpone
waitingwait, await, bide, hold on, hang on
waste of timeprocrastination, busywork, dawdling, dithering, goofing off
dawdlingdawdling, lingering, loitering, lollygagging, tarrying
ropinglasso, lariat, roping, lassoing, noose
idlenessdoing nothing, idling, loafing, lounging, lazing

Opposites

speed and urgency

dallyinghurrying

Moving with urgent speed

rushing · hustling · hastening · speeding · racing

purposefulness

dallyingfocusing

Concentrating on one point

applying oneself · buckling down · getting down to business · serious · industrious

decisiveness

dallyingacting

Temporarily holding position

deciding · committing · proceeding · punctual · prompt

Phrases

dilly dallyingIdling without purpose

Family

Familiarity: Top 200,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G