DITHERED Synonyms: 43 Similar and Opposite Words

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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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

Verb

Incumbents hesitated, but young and diverse civic-minded men and women jumped at a chance to compete on a level playing field for state offices.

— Elona Vaisnys, Hartford Courant, 9 Aug. 2026
When Kimmel hesitated when guessing Spaghetti & Meatball, Affleck and Ding called upon Ding’s trivia partner Stephen Morrison, who opted not to answer.

— Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2026

Definition of hesitated

Verb

Apartment values appear to have faltered in Oakland, an economic erosion that has unleashed loan delinquencies and even foreclosures in a growing number of instances.

— George Avalos, Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2026
But in Sunday’s matchup against the Portland Thorns, that unit faltered in a major way.

— Greg Dudek, Boston Herald, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of faltered

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dither

dithered

dithering

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“Dithered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dithered. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of dithered

verb

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