delay vs dawdling

delay and dawdling both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
delay	Yes	No	Yes	No
dawdling	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, dawdling is a hyponym of delay; that is, dawdling is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than delay:

delay: the act of delaying; inactivity resulting in something being put off until a later time
dawdling: the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working

delay (noun)	dawdling (noun)
the act of delaying; inactivity resulting in something being put off until a later time	the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working
time during which some action is awaited

delay (verb)	dawdling (verb)
cause to be slowed down or delayed
stop or halt
slow the growth or development of
act later than planned, scheduled, or required