Shillyshally — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

the act of procrastinating; putting off or delaying or defering an action to a later time

be uncertain and vague

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ʃˈɪlɪʃəli/

🇬🇧British English

/ʃˈɪlɪʃəli/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ʃˈɪlɪʃəli/

4 syllables Say it as /ʃˈɪlɪʃəli/.

Examples

He did not want to write the letter and procrastinated for days

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

stall procrastinate drag one's feet dilly-dally drag one's heels procrastination dillydally cunctation

Parts of Speech

noun	the act of procrastinating; putting off or delaying or defering an action to a later time
verb	be uncertain and vague
verb	postpone doing what one should be doing “He did not want to write the letter and procrastinated for days”

Word Forms

procrastinate	verb	postpone doing what one should be doing
shillyshally	verb	postpone doing what one should be doing
procrastination	noun	the act of procrastinating; putting off or delaying or defering an action to a later time
procrastinator	noun	someone who postpones work (especially out of laziness or habitual carelessness)
stall	noun	a tactic used to mislead or delay
shillyshally	noun	the act of procrastinating; putting off or delaying or defering an action to a later time
dillydallier	noun	someone who wastes time

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

gefackelt

der Akt des Aufschiebens; eine Handlung aufschieben, verzögern oder auf einen späteren Zeitpunkt verschieben

🇫🇷French

timidement

l'acte de tergiverser ; reporter, retarder ou reporter une action à une date ultérieure

🇪🇸Spanish

tímidamente

el acto de procrastinar; posponer, retrasar o diferir una acción para un momento posterior

🇮🇹Italian

timidamente

l'atto di procrastinare; rinviare, ritardare o rinviare un'azione a un momento successivo

🇳🇱Dutch

besluiteloos

de daad van uitstel; het uitstellen, uitstellen of uitstellen van een actie naar een later tijdstip

🇵🇹Portuguese

silenciosamente

o ato de procrastinar; adiar, atrasar ou adiar uma ação para um momento posterior

🇷🇺Russian

робко

акт прокрастинации; откладывание, отсрочка или отсрочка действия на более позднее время

India

🇮🇳Hindi

धूर्ततापूर्वक

टालने की क्रिया; किसी कार्य को टालना या विलंबित करना या बाद के समय के लिए टालना

🇧🇩Bengali

শিলিশলী

বিলম্বের কাজ; পরবর্তী সময়ের জন্য একটি ক্রিয়া বন্ধ করা বা বিলম্ব করা বা পিছিয়ে দেওয়া

🇮🇳Tamil

சிலிர்ப்பாக

தள்ளிப்போடும் செயல்; ஒரு செயலை தாமதப்படுத்துதல் அல்லது தாமதப்படுத்துதல் அல்லது ஒத்திவைத்தல்

🇮🇳Telugu

షిల్లీషల్లీ

వాయిదా వేసే చర్య; ఒక చర్యను వాయిదా వేయడం లేదా ఆలస్యం చేయడం లేదా తదుపరి సమయానికి వాయిదా వేయడం

🇮🇳Marathi

शिलीशली

विलंब करण्याची कृती; नंतरच्या वेळेस कृती थांबवणे किंवा विलंब करणे किंवा पुढे ढकलणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

શીલપૂર્વક

વિલંબ કરવાની ક્રિયા; કોઈ ક્રિયાને પછીના સમય સુધી મુલતવી રાખવી અથવા વિલંબિત કરવી અથવા સ્થગિત કરવી

🇮🇳Kannada

ಶೀಲವಾಗಿ

ಮುಂದೂಡುವ ಕ್ರಿಯೆ; ಒಂದು ಕ್ರಿಯೆಯನ್ನು ಮುಂದೂಡುವುದು ಅಥವಾ ವಿಳಂಬಗೊಳಿಸುವುದು ಅಥವಾ ನಂತರದ ಸಮಯಕ್ಕೆ ಮುಂದೂಡುವುದು

🇮🇳Malayalam

ഷില്ലായി

നീട്ടിവെക്കുന്ന പ്രവൃത്തി; ഒരു പ്രവൃത്തി പിന്നീടുള്ള സമയത്തേക്ക് മാറ്റിവയ്ക്കുകയോ വൈകിപ്പിക്കുകയോ മാറ്റിവയ്ക്കുകയോ ചെയ്യുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਅਸ਼ਲੀਲਤਾ ਨਾਲ

ਮੁਲਤਵੀ ਕਰਨ ਦਾ ਕੰਮ; ਬਾਅਦ ਵਿੱਚ ਕਿਸੇ ਕਾਰਵਾਈ ਨੂੰ ਮੁਲਤਵੀ ਕਰਨਾ ਜਾਂ ਦੇਰੀ ਕਰਨਾ ਜਾਂ ਮੁਲਤਵੀ ਕਰਨਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

شائستگی سے

تاخیر کا عمل؛ موخر کرنا یا تاخیر کرنا یا کسی عمل کو بعد کے وقت تک موخر کرنا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

犹豫不决

拖延行为；推迟或延迟或推迟行动到稍后的时间

🇯🇵Japanese

シリーシャリー

先延ばしにする行為。行動を延期、延期、または後回しにすること

🇰🇷Korean

엉뚱하게

미루는 행위; 어떤 행동을 나중으로 미루거나 연기하거나 연기하는 것

🇻🇳Vietnamese

một cách ngớ ngẩn

hành động trì hoãn; trì hoãn hoặc trì hoãn một hành động đến thời điểm sau

🇹🇭Thai

อย่างโง่เขลา

การผัดวันประกันพรุ่ง; เลื่อนหรือชะลอหรือเลื่อนการกระทำไปในภายหลัง

🇮🇩Indonesian

bimbang

tindakan menunda-nunda; menunda atau menunda atau menunda suatu tindakan di lain waktu

🇲🇾Malay

dengan kasar

perbuatan berlengah-lengah; menangguhkan atau menangguhkan atau menangguhkan sesuatu tindakan ke masa yang akan datang

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

بتردد

فعل المماطلة. تأجيل أو تأخير أو تأجيل إجراء ما إلى وقت لاحق

🇮🇷Persian

به طرز عجیبی

عمل به تعویق انداختن؛ به تعویق انداختن یا به تاخیر انداختن یا به تعویق انداختن یک عمل به زمان بعدی

🇹🇷Turkish

saçma sapan

erteleme eylemi; bir eylemi ertelemek veya geciktirmek veya daha sonraki bir zamana ertelemek

🇮🇱Hebrew

בצורה רשמית

פעולת הדחיינות; דחייה או עיכוב או דחיית פעולה למועד מאוחר יותר

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'shillyshally'?

The primary meaning of 'shillyshally' is 'the act of procrastinating; putting off or delaying or defering an action to a later time'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'shillyshally' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'shillyshally' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'shillyshally' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'shillyshally' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'shillyshally' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'shillyshally' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'shillyshally' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'shillyshally' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'shillyshally' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'shillyshally' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted