Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to twiddle one's thumbs
Participle: twiddled one's thumbs
Gerund: twiddling one's thumbs
Cognates
-
Indicative
Present
| I | twiddle one's thumbs |
| you | twiddle one's thumbs |
| he;she;it | twiddles one's thumbs |
| we | twiddle one's thumbs |
| you | twiddle one's thumbs |
| they | twiddle one's thumbs |
Perfect
| I | have twiddled one's thumbs |
| you | have twiddled one's thumbs |
| he;she;it | has twiddled one's thumbs |
| we | have twiddled one's thumbs |
| you | have twiddled one's thumbs |
| they | have twiddled one's thumbs |
Past
| I | twiddled one's thumbs |
| you | twiddled one's thumbs |
| he;she;it | twiddled one's thumbs |
| we | twiddled one's thumbs |
| you | twiddled one's thumbs |
| they | twiddled one's thumbs |
Pluperfect
| I | had twiddled one's thumbs |
| you | had twiddled one's thumbs |
| he;she;it | had twiddled one's thumbs |
| we | had twiddled one's thumbs |
| you | had twiddled one's thumbs |
| they | had twiddled one's thumbs |
Future
| I | will twiddle one's thumbs |
| you | will twiddle one's thumbs |
| he;she;it | will twiddle one's thumbs |
| we | will twiddle one's thumbs |
| you | will twiddle one's thumbs |
| they | will twiddle one's thumbs |
Future Perfect
| I | will have twiddled one's thumbs |
| you | will have twiddled one's thumbs |
| he;she;it | will have twiddled one's thumbs |
| we | will have twiddled one's thumbs |
| you | will have twiddled one's thumbs |
| they | will have twiddled one's thumbs |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | twiddle one's thumbs |
| you | twiddle one's thumbs |
| he;she;it | twiddle one's thumbs |
| we | twiddle one's thumbs |
| you | twiddle one's thumbs |
| they | twiddle one's thumbs |
Perfect
| I | have twiddled one's thumbs |
| you | have twiddled one's thumbs |
| he;she;it | have twiddled one's thumbs |
| we | have twiddled one's thumbs |
| you | have twiddled one's thumbs |
| they | have twiddled one's thumbs |
Imperfect
| I | twiddled one's thumbs |
| you | twiddled one's thumbs |
| he;she;it | twiddled one's thumbs |
| we | twiddled one's thumbs |
| you | twiddled one's thumbs |
| they | twiddled one's thumbs |
Pluperfect
| I | had twiddled one's thumbs |
| you | had twiddled one's thumbs |
| he;she;it | had twiddled one's thumbs |
| we | had twiddled one's thumbs |
| you | had twiddled one's thumbs |
| they | had twiddled one's thumbs |
Conditional
Present
| I | would twiddle one's thumbs |
| you | would twiddle one's thumbs |
| he;she;it | would twiddle one's thumbs |
| we | would twiddle one's thumbs |
| you | would twiddle one's thumbs |
| they | would twiddle one's thumbs |
Perfect
| I | would have twiddled one's thumbs |
| you | would have twiddled one's thumbs |
| he;she;it | would have twiddled one's thumbs |
| we | would have twiddled one's thumbs |
| you | would have twiddled one's thumbs |
| they | would have twiddled one's thumbs |
Imperative
| you | twiddle one's thumbs |
| we | Let's twiddle one's thumbs |
| you | twiddle one's thumbs |
Verbs conjugated like 'twiddle'
abacinate,
abalienate,
abase,
abate,
abbreviate,
abdicate,
abduce,
aberrate,
aberuncate,
abirritate,
abjudge,
abjudicate,
abjugate,
abjure,
ablactate,
ablaqueate,
able,
ablegate,
abligate,
abnegate, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'twiddle'
tiddle,
twaddle,
twidle,
widdle,
diddle,
dwindle,
fiddle,
griddle,
hiddle,
middle,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
1. c.1540, "to trifle," of unknown origin; of the fingers, first recorded 1676. Fig. phrase twiddle one's thumbs "have nothing to do" is recorded from 1846; to twirl one's thumbs in the same sense is recorded from 1816.
2. Unknown. Perhaps a blend of twirl, twist, or twitch; fiddle.
Sample Sentences
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She sat and nervously twiddled her hair while she waited.
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The harder Small sang, the harder the cow chewed and the faster she twiddled her ears around as if stirring the song into the food to be rechewed in cud along with her breakfast. [1942, Emily Carr, “Singing”, in The Book of Small, Toronto, Ont.: Oxford University Press, →OCLC:]