shilly-shallyverb [ I ]
uk/ˈʃɪl.iˌʃæl.i/us/ˈʃɪl.iˌʃæl.i/informal disapprovingto spend too much time doing something or making a decision because you do not know what is the right thing to do:
Stop shilly-shallying and make a decision now!
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Hesitating
- dilly-dally
- dither
- falter
- foot
- halting
- hang
- hang back
- have a foot in both camps idiom
- haw
- hem
- hem and haw idiom
- hesitant
- hesitate
- hesitation
- hum
- hum and haw idiom
- pussyfoot
- sit
- sit on the fence idiom
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Doubt & ambivalence