Dither Meaning
/ˈdɪðə/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo tremble, shake, or shiver.
verbTo be uncertain or unable to make a decision; to vacillate, hesitate, or delay.
Sentence Examples
I'm all in a dither about the concert.
She tends to dither when faced with choices.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
She began to ____ over which flavor of ice cream to choose.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I'm all in a ____ about the concert.
Word Origin & History
Variant of didder, from Middle English dideren (“to tremble”). Compare Middle English bididren, bididdren (“to seduce, deceive”), from Old English bedidrian, bedyderian (“to deceive, trick”). Alternatively, perhaps with expressive voicing from *titeren, from Proto-Germanic *titrōną. If so, then a doublet of teeter and cognate with Old High German zittarōn (German zittern) and Old Norse titra (Faroese titra, Icelandic titra). Alternatively an unrelated reduplicative onomatopoeia.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Presently he came running out of the scullery, with the soapy water dripping from him, dithering with cold."
— 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “chapter 8”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
"Look at how pixelly this wall texture is. You almost don't even notice the dithering when driving by quick. Up close though, it's real chunky."
— 2023, Preston "Pretzel", 4:34 from the start, in Familiar and Unfamiliar Areas in Lego Island:
"Everyone was in a dither; either in it or about to get in it or just climbing out of it. Naturally, the Madam was not in a dither. Dither was a foreign concept to her."
— 2002, Thomas P. Glynn, A Child's Christmas In Chicago, page 59:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She began to ____ over which flavor of ice cream to choose.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I'm all in a ____ about the concert.