shadowboxverb [ I ]
uk/ˈʃæd.əʊ.bɒks/us/ˈʃæd.oʊ.bɑːks/to fight an imaginary enemy by hitting the air with your hands
UK to pretend to argue about or deal with a problem, often to avoid dealing with the most important problem:
The main political parties are merely shadowboxing, instead of tackling the real economic problems facing this country.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Fighting
- a fight to the finish idiom
- action stations
- bloodless
- bloodletting
- brawl
- counterinsurgency
- disturbance
- dust-up
- engagement
- fighting
- fistfight
- fray
- gunfight
- he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day idiom
- hotspot
- last
- mano a mano
- pick
- shoot
- slug
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Arguing & disagreeing
shadowboxing
noun [ U ] uk/ˈʃæd.əʊ.bɒk.sɪŋ//ˈʃæd.oʊ.bɑːk.sɪŋ/