top definitions
related content
examples
british

dalliance

[ dal-ee-uh ns, dal-yuh ns ]

/ ˈdæl i əns, ˈdæl yəns /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR dalliance ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a trifling away of time; dawdling.

amorous toying; flirtation.

Origin of dalliance

First recorded in 1300–50, dalliance is from the Middle English word daliaunce. See dally, -ance

Words nearby dalliance

dall's sheep, dallan, dallapiccola, dallas, dalles, dalliance, dallin, dallis grass, dally, dalmane, dalmatia

Example sentences from the Web for dalliance

Should she leave her husband and endure loneliness or tolerate his dalliance and keep a companion for old age?

Ian McEwan's New Novel Keeps Life at Arm's Length |Nick Romeo |September 11, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
These affinities are arguably at the heart of the 40-year dalliance of Iranian and Syrian despots.

Iranian Clerics About to Fall? |Abbas Milani |September 13, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
Despite plenty of gossip in Copenhagen cafes, no politician has ever been booted from office because of a dalliance.

Death of the Sex Scandal |Louise Roug Bokkenheuser |September 29, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
The next gallery offers rose-tinted portraits and a marked, pre-Cubism dalliance with neoclassicism.

The Power of Picasso |Rachel Wolff |April 26, 2010 |DAILY BEAST

How then shall we be able to perform a voyage, even to a moderate distance, if we waste our time in dalliance on the shore?

The Book-lover |James Baldwin
All the traditions of her life caused her to stand aghast at the idea of dalliance with a sin so subtle and alluring as this.

Banked Fires |E. W. (Ethel Winifred) Savi
Soon weary of the dalliance of Temp, it ascends to its mission—the Archer of the silver bow, the guide of the car of light.

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 69, No. 425, March, 1851 |Various
Away then with hypocritical formality and dalliance, and be serious and sincere for thy soul, and with thy God.

A Christian Directory (Volume 1 of 4) |Richard Baxter
But such facilities for dalliance with the Regent's daughter were soon to be brought to an end.

Love affairs of the Courts of Europe |Thornton Hall

British Dictionary definitions for dalliance

dalliance

/ (ˈdælɪəns) /

noun

waste of time in frivolous action or in dawdling

an archaic word for flirtation