Antonyms for pottering


Grammar : Noun, verb
Spell : pot-er
Phonetic Transcription : ˈpɒt ər


Definition of pottering

Origin :
  • "maker of pots" (they also sometimes doubled as bell-founders), late Old English pottere "potter," reinforced by Old French potier "potter," agent noun from root of pot (n.1). As a surname from late 12c. Potter's field (1520s) is Biblical, a ground where clay suitable for pottery was dug, later purchased by high priests of Jerusalem as a burying ground for strangers, criminals, and the poor (Matt. xxvii:7). An older Old English word for "potter" was crocwyrhta "crock-wright."
  • As in inactivity : noun inaction
  • As in inertness : noun inaction
  • As in inoperativeness : noun inaction
  • As in idleness : noun laziness, inaction
  • As in mess around : verb fiddle; goof off
  • As in putter : verb dawdle
  • As in trifle : verb toy with; mess around
  • As in twiddle : verb fiddle
  • As in fiddle : verb mess with, tinker
Example sentences :
  • I could manage the little jobs that I'd get—in fact, pottering about at them would do me good.
  • Extract from : « The Great Hunger » by Johan Bojer
  • He left the room and she heard him pottering in the kitchen.
  • Extract from : « The Paliser case » by Edgar Saltus
  • Just as if we hadn't had enough tinkering and pottering lately.
  • Extract from : « Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 104, March 11, 1893 » by Various
  • The men were a sculptor, pottering with clay, and his model.
  • Extract from : « The Wit of a Duck and Other Papers » by John Burroughs
  • Harlan was engaged in that pleasant pastime known as “pottering.”
  • Extract from : « At the Sign of the Jack O'Lantern » by Myrtle Reed
  • Then she saw old Lawdor pottering in and out of a room into which she had not yet looked.
  • Extract from : « The Girl from Sunset Ranch » by Amy Bell Marlowe
  • In an humble and pottering way, we are a happy family, James.
  • Extract from : « A Pessimist » by Robert Timsol
  • What did that pottering vagabond mean by arousing us in the middle of the night?
  • Extract from : « Our Southern Highlanders » by Horace Kephart
  • I am not fit for anything more now than pottering about with my fishing-lines.
  • Extract from : « Lords of the World » by Alfred John Church
  • And what a pottering old rascal Charley was among the stone walls.
  • Extract from : « Ravenshoe » by Henry Kingsley

Synonyms for pottering

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019