ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Dither

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ˈdɪðə/ · Part of speech verb

Quick meaning: Dither is a verb meaning (literally) To tremble, shake, or shiver.

Meaning

(literally) To tremble, shake, or shiver.

More Meanings

  1. (figurative) To be uncertain or unable to make a decision; to vacillate, hesitate, or delay.
  2. To do something nervously.
  3. (electronics, technology, signal processing) To apply an algorithm to digital data to minimize the effects of quantization:
  4. Trembling, shaking, or shivering.
  5. A state of nervous excitement.
  6. The state of being undecided; indecision; vacillation.
  7. (electronics, technology, signal processing) Any algorithm applied to digital data to minimize the effects of quantization:

Example Sentences

Presently he came running out of the scullery, with the soapy water dripping from him, dithering with cold.
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.
2012, The Economist, Sept. 22nd issue, "Indian Reform: At Last" The dithering Mr Singh of recent times may worry that his reform proposals are already too bold. The reforming Mr Singh of yore would see them as just the start.

Word Forms

Synonyms for dither

Depending on context, synonyms include shudder, flap, fuss, pother, tizzy, shiver.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include shiver, shudder, tizzy, pother, fuss, flap.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.