Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to faff about
Participle: faffed about
Gerund: faffing about
Cognates
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Indicative
Present
| I | faff about |
| you | faff about |
| he;she;it | faffs about |
| we | faff about |
| you | faff about |
| they | faff about |
Perfect
| I | have faffed about |
| you | have faffed about |
| he;she;it | has faffed about |
| we | have faffed about |
| you | have faffed about |
| they | have faffed about |
Past
| I | faffed about |
| you | faffed about |
| he;she;it | faffed about |
| we | faffed about |
| you | faffed about |
| they | faffed about |
Pluperfect
| I | had faffed about |
| you | had faffed about |
| he;she;it | had faffed about |
| we | had faffed about |
| you | had faffed about |
| they | had faffed about |
Future
| I | will faff about |
| you | will faff about |
| he;she;it | will faff about |
| we | will faff about |
| you | will faff about |
| they | will faff about |
Future Perfect
| I | will have faffed about |
| you | will have faffed about |
| he;she;it | will have faffed about |
| we | will have faffed about |
| you | will have faffed about |
| they | will have faffed about |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | faff about |
| you | faff about |
| he;she;it | faff about |
| we | faff about |
| you | faff about |
| they | faff about |
Perfect
| I | have faffed about |
| you | have faffed about |
| he;she;it | have faffed about |
| we | have faffed about |
| you | have faffed about |
| they | have faffed about |
Imperfect
| I | faffed about |
| you | faffed about |
| he;she;it | faffed about |
| we | faffed about |
| you | faffed about |
| they | faffed about |
Pluperfect
| I | had faffed about |
| you | had faffed about |
| he;she;it | had faffed about |
| we | had faffed about |
| you | had faffed about |
| they | had faffed about |
Conditional
Present
| I | would faff about |
| you | would faff about |
| he;she;it | would faff about |
| we | would faff about |
| you | would faff about |
| they | would faff about |
Perfect
| I | would have faffed about |
| you | would have faffed about |
| he;she;it | would have faffed about |
| we | would have faffed about |
| you | would have faffed about |
| they | would have faffed about |
Imperative
| you | faff about |
| we | Let's faff about |
| you | faff about |
Verbs conjugated like 'faff'
abandon,
abduct,
abear,
aberr,
abject,
abord,
abort,
abound,
abraid,
abray,
abrook,
abscind,
abscond,
absist,
absorb,
abstain,
abstract,
accend,
accent,
accept, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'faff'
baff,
daff,
fuff,
gaff,
laff,
pfaff,
raff,
waff,
affy,
barf,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
- to be idle
- arse about, arse around, bludge, bum around, cabbage, clown around, dawdle, dick about, dick around, dilly-dally, drumble, faff about, faff around, fanny about, fanny around, fart about, fart around, fiddle about, fiddle around, fool about, fool around, footle, goof around, goof off, hang about, hang around, hang out, horse around, idle, jerk off, lallygag, laze, laze about, laze around, linger, loaf, loaf about, loaf around, loiter, lollygag, mess around, mill about, mill around, muck about, muck around, tarry, waste time, while
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
Originally imitative of wind or puffs of air (see verb senses "to blow in puffs", "to move with a puff of air"). The noun is formed from the verb by conversion.
Sample Sentences
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Time wi’ his scythe hed mawn t’crop on his heead, An’ then fafft it away wi’ his wing. [1949, W.J. Halliday, Arthur Stanley Umpleby, The White Rose Garland, page 104:]
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Stop Faffing And Just Do It [2009, Steven Aitchison, 100 Ways to Develop Your Mind, page 131:]
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Frontier knows you're going to be spending a lot of time building coasters and faffing with scenery, so it doesn't want you fighting fires constantly. [2025 February 26, Rick Lane, “Review: Planet Coaster 2”, in PC Gamer (US), number 392, page 69; published online 1 November 2024:]