In the English language, REDUPLICATIVE is a word or expression formed by repeating part (or all) of a word, usually the beginning-and sometimes changing the vowel sound in the process. It’s often used to serve a grammatical or expressive function.
Here are some reduplicative words with their meanings:
1 Helter-skelter— Chaotic or disorderly.
2 Wishy-washy— Indecisive or weak.
3 Teeny-tiny— Extremely small.
4 Dilly-dally—Waste time or dawdle.
5 Hocus Pocus— Magic or trickery.
6 Pitter-patter— Soft, quick sounds (like rain or small feet).
7 Shilly-shally— Hesitate or delay.
8 Chit-chat— Small talk.
9 Riff-raff— Undesirable or disreputable people.
10 Knick-knack—Small decorative item.
11 Mumbo-jumbo—Nonsense or gibberish.
12 Hip-hop—Music genre and cultural movement.
13 Zig-zag—Move sharply back and forth.
14 Tick-tock—Clock sound.
15 Flip-flop—Change one’s mind (or casual footwear).
16 Sing-song—Repetitive, melodic voice.
17 Boogie-woogie—Type of blues music or dancing.
18 Namby-pamby—Weak or sentimental.
19 Heebie-jeebies—Creepy or anxious feeling.
20 Tittle-tattle—Gossip or side talk.
21 Hanky-panky—Mischief, trickery, or flirtation.
22 Willy-nilly—Randomly or withoutplanning.
23 Hanky-dory—Everything is fine.
24 Roly-poly—Round and plump (often endearingly)
25 Goody-goody—Self-righteous or overly obedient person.
26 Okey-dokey—Informal okay.
27 Fuddy-duddy—Old fashioned or dull person.
28 Hurly-burly—Noisy confusion or chaos.
29 Super-duper—Excellent or impressive.
30 Lovel-dovel—Excessively affectionate.
31 Ticky-tacky—Cheap, shoddy material.
32 Boogie-boogie—A fun or energetic movement/dance.
33 Meeny-miney—Part of the children’s rhyme, “Eeny meen, miney, moe”.
34 Higgledy-piggledy—Disorganised or jumbled.
35 Yada-yada—Blah, blah, filler conversation.
36 See-saw—Move up and down, teeter.
37 Snip-snap—quick back and forth ( can be words or motion).
38 Clap-trap—Pretentious or nonsensical speech
39 Chop-chop—Hurry up.
40 Click-clack—Sound of shoes, typewriters, or trains.
41 Hum-drum—Boring or monotonous.
42 Mish-mash—A confused mixture.
43 Ping-pong—Table tennis or rapid exchange.
44 Toodle-oo – Informal goodbye.
45 Tip-top– Excellent or best condition.
46 Wow-wow—barking sound.
47 Hob-nob—Socialise or mingle informally.
48 Criss-cross—Intersecting paths.
49 Pow-wow—Meeting or conference.
50 Bling-bling—Fishy or showy jewelery.
Friends, if you are aware of any other reduplicative words, please let me know.
Waiting for your feedback on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
25th June 2025