verb

• 1Act in a cautious or non-committal way.

  ‘I realized I could no longer pussyfoot around’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Mr Blair may want to pussyfoot around this issue, but I don't.’
  • ‘‘Tell me we're not going to pussyfoot around when we get in there,’ he says.’
  • ‘Don't pussyfoot around with vague terms like hang out.’
  • ‘You don't pussyfoot around and make excuses for a murderous dictator who ignores U.N. mandates for 12 years.’
  • ‘It's this obstinate refusal to pussyfoot around and pull punches that endears her to those sick of spin and glib sloganeering.’
  • ‘The Federal Government should not pussyfoot around.’
  • ‘If you want to pussyfoot around, you should not be fighting!’
  • ‘As the end credits rolled, you left Amélie thinking that love would come to even those who pussyfoot around in games of the heart.’
  • ‘Believe me, he does not pussyfoot around when operating the action.’
  • ‘Let's do it in a sensible way and stop pussyfooting around.’
  • ‘We're simply pussyfooting around this issue instead of dealing with it.’
  • ‘However, the work must be finished by the end of this financial year, so we won't get anywhere by pussyfooting around.’
  • ‘We can no longer be pussyfooting around thinking how thin-skinned people are when dealing with the matter of national security.’
  • ‘With the state governments pussyfooting, the sex ratio continued to fall and the latest census revealed a further drop - 927 girls per 1,000 boys.’
  • ‘Giller doesn't tell us, though he pussyfoots around the subject.’
  • ‘And yes, it is an absolutely pretentious concept, but I admire Smith for making a bold claim and not pussyfooting around.’
  • ‘Well, stop pussyfooting around and put your foot down.’
  • ‘Without pussyfooting around, I can state that Catwoman is a catastrophe.’
  • ‘I replied that there are just a few issues where we have to stop pussyfooting around, and free speech was one of them.’
  • ‘Of course White is pussyfooting around, but this is simply what a lot of players will do.’

  Synonyms

  equivocate, be evasive, be non-committal, dodge the issue, evade the issue, fudge the issue, sidestep the issue, prevaricate, quibble, parry questions, hedge, fence, vacillate, shuffle about, beat about the bush

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  1. 1.1Move stealthily or warily.
     ‘they make a great show of pussyfooting through the greenery’
     More example sentences

     • ‘You've been pussyfooting around all week long about some secret you have.’
     • ‘It is not about pussyfooting in the dark nor is it about throwing stones while hiding the hand.’
     Synonyms

     creep, move stealthily, tiptoe, pad, soft-shoe, steal, sneak, nose, sidle, stalk, prowl, slink, skulk, tread warily

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