Meaning
5 senses(intransitive, literally)To tremble, shake, or shiver.
zittern
колебатьсяkolebat'sja, трястисьtrjastis'
(figuratively, intransitive)To be uncertain or unable to make a decision; to vacillate, hesitate, or delay.
zögern
колебатьсяkolebatʹsja
(intransitive)To do something nervously.
act nervously; be undecided; be uncertain
To apply an algorithm to digital data to minimize the effects of quantization:
(intransitive)To use dot patterns in an image or graphic to simulate colors or shades not in the system palette.
(intransitive)To intentionally add noise to a signal to remove artifacts caused by digitization.
Examples
7 sentencesWe can't afford to dither any longer.
I'm all in a dither about the concert.
She tends to dither when faced with choices.
She wavers, she dithers: in one word, a woman.
Even while I was dithering it's like I was being backed further and further into a corner.
Translations
6 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 2
Origin
Variant of didder, from Middle English dideren (“to tremble”). Compare Middle English bidiVariant of didder, from Middle English dideren (“to tremble”). Compare Middle English bididren, bididdren (“to seduce, deceive”), from Old English bedidrian, bedyderian (“to deceive, trick”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
dithers, dithering, dithered, ditheredSynonyms
2 synonymsWord family
8 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle