shilly-shally

[ shil-ee-shal-ee ]
See synonyms for shilly-shally on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object),shil·ly-shal·lied, shil·ly-shal·ly·ing.
  1. to show indecision or hesitation; be irresolute; vacillate.

  2. to waste time; dawdle.

noun,plural shil·ly-shal·lies.
  1. irresolution; indecision; vacillation: It was sheer shilly-shally on his part.

adverb
  1. irresolutely.

Origin of shilly-shally

1
First recorded in 1690–1700; originally repeated question, shall I? shall I?; later altered on the model of its synonym dilly-dally

Other words from shilly-shally

  • shil·ly-shal·li·er, noun

Words Nearby shilly-shally

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How to use shilly-shally in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shillyshally

shillyshally

/ (ˈʃɪlɪˌʃælɪ) informal /


verb-lies, -lying or -lied
  1. (intr) to be indecisive, esp over unimportant matters; hesitate

adverb
  1. in an indecisive manner

adjective
  1. indecisive or hesitant

nounplural -lies
  1. indecision or hesitation; vacillation

Origin of shillyshally

1
C18: from shill I shall I, by reduplication of shall I

Derived forms of shillyshally

  • shillyshallier, noun

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