dither

Meaning 1: when describing indecision

Be indecisive or act in a nervous, confused way while trying to make a choice.

Examples

• Stop dithering and choose a restaurant so we can finally leave.
• The committee dithered for weeks before finally rejecting the proposal.

Meaning 2: in digital media

add noise to a signal to reduce errors in digital conversion

Examples

• The software automatically dithers the audio to prevent distortion.
• You should dither the image when downsampling to avoid color banding.

Meaning 3: when describing movement

tremble or shake nervously

Examples

• The old bridge seemed to dither in the high winds.
• Her hands began to dither as she held the heavy tray.

Pronunciation: /ˈdɪðər/

How to Use dither

dither over (prepositional phrase)

to be indecisive about a specific choice — "Stop dithering over which color to paint the wall."

dither about (prepositional phrase)

to waste time being indecisive — "We have no time to dither about while the deadline approaches."

Synonyms of dither

Words with a similar meaning to dither:

• hesitate
• waver
• vacillate
• dilly-dally

Antonyms of dither

Words with the opposite meaning to dither:

• decide
• resolve