/ English Dictionary

DALLY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: dallied   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Consider not very seriously

Example:

She plays with the thought of moving to Tasmania

Synonyms:

dally; play; trifle

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "dally" is one way to...):

consider; deal; look at; take (take into consideration for exemplifying purposes)

Verb group:

dally; flirt; play; toy (behave carelessly or indifferently)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

Sam wants to dally with Sue

Sense 2

Meaning:

Talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions

Example:

My husband never flirts with other women

Synonyms:

butterfly; chat up; coquet; coquette; dally; flirt; mash; philander; romance

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "dally" is one way to...):

speak; talk (exchange thoughts; talk with)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "dally"):

wanton (engage in amorous play)

vamp (act seductively with (someone))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

Sam wants to dally with Sue

Derivation:

dalliance (playful behavior intended to arouse sexual interest)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Waste time

Example:

Get busy--don't dally!

Synonyms:

dally; dawdle

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "dally" is one way to...):

act; behave; do (behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

dalliance (the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working)

dallier (someone who wastes time)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Behave carelessly or indifferently

Example:

Play about with a young girl's affection

Synonyms:

dally; flirt; play; toy

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "dally" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Verb group:

dally; play; trifle (consider not very seriously)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

dalliance (playful behavior intended to arouse sexual interest)

Credits

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE