to faddle
- verb
- He spent hours faddling instead of working on the important project.
Examples
-
While Congress, including Democrats, sits around fiddling and faddling, unsure about what ought to be done, states are on the move, making it happen.
Academic text (2002) -
She often faddles with her phone, scrolling through social media when she should be studying.
-
Instead of finishing his homework, he was faddling around with meaningless tasks all evening.
Synonyms
To spend time doing playful or unplanned activities
To spend time doing nothing useful
To relax and do very little
To do nothing while you wait for something to happen
To spend time somewhere doing nothing special
Spend time doing very little or nothing
To spend time doing not important things in a relaxed way
To waste time instead of doing the work you need
To spend time doing very little and moving around without plans
To waste time doing small unimportant tasks
To spend time doing small unimportant things instead of working
To spend time doing things that are not important
To waste time doing small unimportant things
To spend time lazily doing little or nothing
To spend time doing very little and relaxing
To spend time on small, unimportant tasks instead of getting things done
To move around slowly doing small jobs in no hurry
To spend time doing nothing in a lazy way
To waste time instead of doing something useful
To waste time doing small, unimportant things
To spend time doing small unimportant things with no real plan
Spend time or money on unimportant things
To spend time idly on unimportant things
To touch or move something lightly with your hands
To waste time instead of doing something useful
Antonyms
Compounds
How Productive
Surface Forms
Etymology
Faddle can be pictured like fiddle: to play or move with small things instead of doing the main task, so to faddle is 'to waste time' or 'to fuss' about unimportant matters.