dithered

verb

past tense of dither
as in hesitated
to show uncertainty about the right course of action we dithered all afternoon over whether to go to the park or to the movies and ended up doing neither

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dithered But phase two of the program kept getting delayed, in part because Congress dithered on funding. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 10 July 2026 Sarah Finnane dithered mightily before deciding on this wild wallpaper for the new powder room. — Gary Thompson, Midwest Living, 5 June 2026 Trump dithered, then waited until the last minute to back Paxton. — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 20 May 2026 As the authorities dithered, people across the city grew restless. — Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026 People shouted over each other as the performers dithered over ideas and raced around the venue. — Matthew J. Palm, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2026 Ao Tanaka should not have dithered and conceded the second set-piece so late into injury time, while the backline should have been more alert to the second ball. — Beren Cross, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dithered
  1. hesitated
  2. faltered
Verb
  • Though her books continue to be adapted into movies and recurring series, Moriarty has always hesitated to write a sequel.
    — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The driver hesitated on the street for a moment before driving away.
    — Evgenia Anastasakos, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of hesitated
Verb
  • In the rest of the state, Graham prevailed — including in the Charleston area, where former governor and congressman Mark Sanford endorsed Norman after his own Senate campaign faltered.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • But their turnout in Broward, the state’s last big remaining Democratic stronghold, faltered.
    — Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of faltered

Browse Nearby Words

dither
dithered
dithering
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Cite this Entry

“Dithered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dithered. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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