shilly-shally

[shil-ee-shal-ee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shilly-shally ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), shil·ly-shal·lied, shil·ly-shal·ly·ing.

to show indecision or hesitation; be irresolute; vacillate.

to waste time; dawdle.

noun, plural shil·ly-shal·lies.

irresolution; indecision; vacillation: It was sheer shilly-shally on his part.

adjective

irresolute; undecided; vacillating.

adverb

irresolutely.

Origin of shilly-shally

1690–1700; orig. repeated question, shall I? shall I? later altered on the model of its synonym dilly-dally

Related formsshil·ly-shal·li·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for shillyshally

hesitate, dawdle, waffle, seesaw, waver, fluctuate, dither, oscillate, differ, divide, modify, diverge, range, diversify, alter, distrust, suspect, impugn, rotate, vary

Examples from the Web for shillyshally

Historical Examples of shillyshally

You've got to shillyshally, and then you've got to go it blind.
April Hopes
William Dean Howells
Then a lot of shillyshally usually followed, Tom for and Dick and Harry against.
Ulysses
James Joyce

British Dictionary definitions for shillyshally

shillyshally

verb -lies, -lying or -lied

(intr) to be indecisive, esp over unimportant matters; hesitate

adverb

in an indecisive manner

adjective

indecisive or hesitant

noun plural -lies

indecision or hesitation; vacillation

Derived Formsshillyshallier, noun

Word Origin for shillyshally

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for shillyshally

shilly-shally

"to vacillate," 1782, from adverbial expression to stand shilly-shally (1703), earlier shill I, shall I (1700), a fanciful reduplication of shall I? (cf. wishy-washy, dilly-dally, etc.). From 1734 as an adjective, by 1755 as a noun. Related: Shilly-shallying (1816).