dither

[ dith-er ]

noun

1. a trembling; vibration.
2. a state of flustered excitement or fear.

verb (used without object)

1. to act irresolutely; vacillate.
2. North England. to tremble with excitement or fear.

dither

/ ˈdɪðə /

verb

1. to be uncertain or indecisive
2. to be in an agitated state
3. to tremble, as with cold

noun

1. a state of indecision
2. a state of agitation

Derived Forms

• ˈditherer, noun
• ˈdithery, adjective

Other Words From

• dither·er noun
• dither·y adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dither¹

1640–50; variant of didder ( late Middle English diddere ); dodder ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of dither¹

C17: variant of C14 (northern English dialect) didder, of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

A Group That Makes Small Decisions For You brings together nearly 185,000 people from around the world to resolve the sorts of low-stakes questions and choices we all dither over, multiple times a day—from what to eat to what to watch to how to spend a few bucks.

From Slate

But he told the programme Ukraine’s allies needed to be "firm" and "not signal this kind of dither and dilemma".

From BBC

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner promised "no more dither and delay" on rebalancing the rights of tenants with those of landlords.

From BBC

Crucially, the center parties, especially the Christian Democrats, have started to dither and waver toward the right following months of unrelenting demonstrations across the bloc, with hundreds of tractors often blocking essential economic lifelines or many of the Europe’s great cities like Paris and Madrid.

From Seattle Times

While these two political lightweights dither, people are dying, as Ukrainian soldiers run out of artillery shells and Russia bombs civilian homes and infrastructure in large Ukrainian cities that lack air defenses.

From Seattle Times