malingering

verb

present participle of malinger
as in idling
to pretend to be sick or injured in order to avoid doing work Because of his frequent absences, his boss suspected he was malingering.

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for malingering
  1. idling
  2. messing
  3. fooling
  4. bumming
  5. playing
  6. lingering
  7. resting
  8. loafing
Verb
  • Residents described idling in traffic as roads became jammed with evacuees.
    — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Not only that, unnecessary idling isn’t exactly great for your car’s engine.
    — Molly Burford, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of idling
Verb
  • There was something a little therapeutic about messing it up.
    — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 28 June 2026
  • No one can match her depth and passion to get vengeance on Krem of the Yellow Hills for messing with her family — a sentiment Cancers understand.
    — Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026
Definition of messing
Verb
  • Anybody hoping that a Netanyahu defeat in October and the emergence of a less controversial successor will reset the table is likely fooling themselves.
    — Daniel DePetris, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Throughout all the commotion, Romelu Lukaku acted as decoy, holding on to the ball, fooling everyone, including the TV producer, who pulled up a graphic showing his recent penalty record.
    — Geir Jordet, New York Times, 15 July 2026
Definition of fooling
Verb
  • Spring cleaning bumming you out?
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 30 Mar. 2026
  • That’s what was bumming him out.
    — Emily Longeretta, Variety, 3 Sep. 2025
Definition of bumming
Verb
  • The service got its name from the original Mechanical Turk, an 18th century chess-playing robot that was actually controlled by a human chess master.
    — Annie Palmer, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
  • If your dog has any dental issues, playing any type of pulling game is not advisable.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of playing
Verb
  • Rain has already begun to move across the Big Island and is expected to continue through at least Monday, with lingering rain still impacting some of the islands possibly on Tuesday.
    — Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
  • If any lingering question of home-court advantage persisted, it was made crystal clear in the final 30 seconds who had the biggest backing, as Barclays erupted in celebration of the Liberty’s game-winning plays down the stretch.
    — Annie Costabile, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of lingering
Verb
  • But still there is a feeling of resting peacefully on the sea, looking into this fragile colour of my bedroom.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The benefit of so many starters resting is a continued look at the depth, and the Chiefs got that Saturday night.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of resting
Verb
  • Kids who used to run to the field excited to play, suddenly started loafing to the field wearing their crocs with their heads buried in their phones.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 June 2026
  • The pair had been loafing for some time among a grove of apple trees on a private residence in Payson.
    — Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 20 Feb. 2026
Definition of loafing
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

malingerers
malingering
malingers
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Cite this Entry

“Malingering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malingering. Accessed 31 Aug. 2026.

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