Meaning & use
Tarrying
Last updated
Staying somewhere longer than expected; delaying departure or lingering.
See it in a sentence
We can't keep tarrying here; the train leaves in ten minutes.
She spent the afternoon tarrying by the lake, in no hurry to go home.
A note on using this word
From Middle English 'tarien,' related to the idea of delay; it now sounds somewhat old-fashioned or literary.
Words with a similar meaning
lingeringdawdling
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
hurryingrushing
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