dither

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitive

   To hesitate and keep changing your mind when you have a small choice to make.

   Grammar: No object; often followed by over or about: dither over the menu.

   Patterns

   • dither over something
   • dither about something

   Don't dither over the menu; the waiter is waiting.

   She dithered for an hour about which shoes to buy.

   While we dithered, the last tickets sold out.

2. 2nounsingularinformalBritish

   A state of nervous, anxious indecision or excitement.

   Grammar: Almost always in the phrase in a dither.

   Patterns

   • in a dither
   • all of a dither

   He was in a dither about the interview.

   The sudden announcement put the whole office in a dither.

   She was all of a dither before the wedding.

Word forms

Common combinations

dither over

Stop dithering over a small decision.

dither about

They dithered about where to eat for twenty minutes.

stop dithering

Stop dithering and pick a color.

in a dither

She was in a dither over what to wear.

no time to dither

There is no time to dither; the bus leaves in a minute.

Synonyms and how they differ

hesitate

Hesitate is neutral and can describe a short pause, while dither implies repeated, slightly annoying indecision.

waver

Waver suggests swinging between two positions or feelings, often in a more serious matter.

vacillate

Vacillate is formal and more serious, whereas dither is casual and used for small decisions.

shilly-shally

Shilly-shally is an old-fashioned, humorous word for the same idea, and it sounds more playful than dither.

Opposites

Word family

dithering noun

the act of hesitating without deciding

ditherer noun

a person who often hesitates

dithery adjective

inclined to be indecisive

Commonly confused: dither or differ?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “dither”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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