Fiddling — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective noun verb /ˈfid-liŋ/ fid·dling

Meaning & Definition of Fiddling

Fiddling (adjective)

  1. trifling, petty

Fiddling (noun)

  1. the act of playing on a fiddle

Fiddling (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. lacking importance

    "you should delegate these fiddling matters to your staff so that you can focus on more important issues"

    similar: foolish, frivolous, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, Mickey Mouse, minor, minute, negligible, nugatory, slight, small, small-fry, trifling, trivial, unimportant, neither here nor there
    related: jerkwater, one-horse, nickel-and-dime, paltry, petty, small-time, worthless, anonymous, nameless, obscure, uncelebrated, unknown
    opposite: big, consequential, eventful, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, significant, substantial, unfrivolous, weighty
    near: decisive, fatal, fateful, chief, dominant, overbearing, overmastering, overriding, principal, distinctive, exceptional, impressive, outstanding, prominent, remarkable, valuable, worthwhile, worthy, distinguished, eminent, great, illustrious, preeminent, prestigious, famous, notorious, renowned, all-important, basic, essential, fundamental, key

Fiddling (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. as in fidgeting, twitching

    similar: fidgeting, squirm, squirming, twitching, wriggling, writhing, locomotion, mobility, motility, motivity, flailing, flapping, waving, dislocation, migration, relocation, motion, move, movement, shift, shifting, stir, stirring
    opposite: motionlessness, immobility, inertia, inertness, stillness, cessation, discontinuance, ending, expiration, finish, halt, lapse, pause, shutdown, shutoff, stop, stoppage, surcease, termination

Fiddling (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to make jerky or restless movements

    "the executive fiddled with a pen as she impatiently waited for the meeting to begin"

    similar: fidgeting, jerking, jigging, jiggling, squiggling, squirming, thrashing, threshing, tossing, twisting, twitching, wiggling, wriggling, writhing
    related: flitting, fluttering, twittering, quaking, quivering, shaking, shivering, shuddering, trembling, pacing
    near: relaxing, resting, unwinding, calming (down), stilling

  2. to rob by the use of trickery or threats

    "conscienceless grifters who had spent their lives fiddling the naive"

    similar: beating, bilking, bleeding, cheating, chiseling, chousing, conning, cozening, defrauding, diddling, doing, doing in, euchring, fleecing, flimflamming, gaffing, hosing (slang), hustling, mulcting, nobbling (British slang), plucking, reaming, ripping off, rooking, screwing, shaking down, shortchanging, shorting, skinning, skunking, squeezing, sticking, stiffing, stinging, suckering, swindling, thimblerigging, victimizing, selling a bill of goods to, taking for a ride, taking to the cleaners
    related: extorting, wrenching, wresting, wringing, clipping, gouging, nicking, overcharging, soaking, exploiting, milking, deceiving, duping, fooling, gulling, tricking, roping (in), betraying, bitching, double-crossing, bamboozling, fast-talking

Related Entry: Fiddle (verb)

Fiddle is a different word from Fiddling. The synonyms below are for fiddle, not for fiddling.

  1. to make jerky or restless movements

    "the executive fiddled with a pen as she impatiently waited for the meeting to begin"

    similar: fidget, jerk, jig, jiggle, squiggle, squirm, thrash, thresh, toss, twist, twitch, wiggle, wriggle, writhe
    related: flit, flutter, twitter, quake, quiver, shake, shiver, shudder, tremble, pace
    near: relax, rest, unwind, calm (down), still

  2. to rob by the use of trickery or threats

    "conscienceless grifters who had spent their lives fiddling the naive"

    similar: beat, bilk, bleed, cheat, chisel, chouse, con, cozen, defraud, diddle, do, do in, euchre, fleece, flimflam, gaff, hose (slang), hustle, mulct, nobble (British slang), pluck, ream, rip off, rook, screw, shake down, short, shortchange, skin, skunk, squeeze, stick, stiff, sting, sucker, swindle, thimblerig, victimize, sell a bill of goods to, take for a ride, take to the cleaners
    related: extort, wrench, wrest, wring, clip, gouge, nick, overcharge, soak, exploit, milk, deceive, dupe, fool, gull, trick, rope (in), betray, bitch, double-cross, bamboozle, fast-talk

Related Entry: Fiddle (around) (verb)

Fiddle (around) is a different word from Fiddling. The synonyms below are for fiddle (around), not for fiddling.

  1. to spend time in aimless activity

    "we spent the snow day just fiddling around"

    similar: doodle, fool around, fribble, goof (around), hang about (British), kick around, mess around, monkey (around), play, potter (around), putter (around), trifle
    related: dally, dawdle, dillydally, hang (around or out), idle, loaf, loll, lounge, clown (around), horse around, diddle (with), tinker
    near: buckle (down), knuckle down, set (to), settle (down)

Related Entry: Fiddle (with) (verb)

Fiddle (with) is a different word from Fiddling. The synonyms below are for fiddle (with), not for fiddling.

  1. to handle thoughtlessly, ignorantly, or mischievously

    "I could tell that someone had been fiddling with the carefully set controls on my entertainment system"

    similar: diddle (with), fool (with), mess (with), monkey (with), play (with), tamper (with), tinker (with), toy (with), twiddle (with)
    related: abuse, alter, doctor, manhandle, manipulate, mistreat, misuse, butt in, interfere, intrude, meddle, muck (about or around)

Related Entry: Fiddling away (verb)

Fiddling away is a different word from Fiddling. The synonyms below are for fiddling away, not for fiddling.

  1. to use up carelessly

    "fiddled away the entire evening surfing the Internet"

    similar: blowing, dissipating, frittering (away), lavishing, losing, misspending, running through, spending, squandering, throwing away, trifling (away), wasting, playing ducks and drakes with
    related: splurging, consuming, depleting, exhausting, impoverishing, overspending, shooting, indulging, overindulging, disbursing, expending, laying out
    opposite: conserving
    near: economizing, scrimping, skimping, preserving, protecting, saving, hoarding, laying up

Related Entry: Fiddle away (verb)

Fiddle away is a different word from Fiddling. The synonyms below are for fiddle away, not for fiddling.

  1. to use up carelessly

    "fiddled away the entire evening surfing the Internet"

    similar: blow, dissipate, fritter (away), lavish, lose, misspend, run through, spend, squander, throw away, trifle (away), waste, play ducks and drakes with
    related: splurge, consume, deplete, exhaust, impoverish, overspend, shoot, indulge, overindulge, disburse, expend, lay out
    opposite: conserve
    near: economize, scrimp, skimp, preserve, protect, save, hoard, lay up

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Fiddling

The most common words with a similar meaning to Fiddling:

Slang: hosing
British slang: nobbling
foolish, frivolous, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, Mickey Mouse, minor, minute, negligible, nugatory, slight, small, small-fry, trifling, trivial, unimportant, neither here nor there, fidgeting, squirm, squirming, twitching, wriggling, writhing, locomotion, mobility, motility, motivity, flailing, flapping, waving, dislocation, migration, relocation, motion, move, movement, shift, shifting

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Fiddling

Words with the opposite meaning of Fiddling:

big, consequential, eventful, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, significant, substantial, unfrivolous, weighty, motionlessness, immobility, inertia, inertness, stillness, cessation, discontinuance, ending, expiration, finish, halt, lapse, pause, shutdown, shutoff, stop, stoppage, surcease

Related Words for Fiddling

jerkwater, one-horse, nickel-and-dime, paltry, petty, small-time, worthless, anonymous, nameless, obscure, uncelebrated, unknown, flitting, fluttering, twittering, quaking, quivering, shaking, shivering, shuddering, trembling, pacing, extorting, wrenching, wresting, wringing, clipping, gouging, nicking, overcharging

Near Antonyms of Fiddling

decisive, fatal, fateful, chief, dominant, overbearing, overmastering, overriding, principal, distinctive, exceptional, impressive, outstanding, prominent, remarkable, valuable, worthwhile, worthy, distinguished, eminent, great, illustrious, preeminent, prestigious, famous, notorious, renowned, all-important, basic, essential

Origin & Etymology of Fiddling

First known use: 1652

Frequently Asked Questions about Fiddling

What does "Fiddling" mean?

"Fiddling" means trifling, petty. As an an adjective, a noun and a verb, it is defined as: trifling, petty. It has 4 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Fiddling"?

Other words for "Fiddling" include foolish, frivolous, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little and Mickey Mouse. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Fiddling" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Fiddling"?

There are 136 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Fiddling". Common alternatives include foolish, frivolous, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, Mickey Mouse, minor and minute.

What is the opposite of "Fiddling"?

Antonyms of "Fiddling" include big, consequential, eventful, important, major, material, meaningful and momentous. Near antonyms include decisive, fatal, fateful and chief.

How do you use "Fiddling" in a sentence?

Examples of "Fiddling" in a sentence: "you should delegate these fiddling matters to your staff so that you can focus on more important issues"; "the executive fiddled with a pen as she impatiently waited for the meeting to begin"; "conscienceless grifters who had spent their lives fiddling the naive".

Is "Fiddling" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Fiddling" can be used as an adjective, a noun and a verb, depending on the context.

How do you pronounce "Fiddling"?

"Fiddling" is pronounced /ˈfid-liŋ/ and divided into syllables as fid·dling.

What is the origin of the word "Fiddling"?

First known use: 1652.