verb
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dither
Dither (verb) means to quiver, shudder, or shake.
verb
1
To quiver, shudder, or shake.
"Presently he came running out of the scullery, with the soapy water dripping from him, dithering with cold."
— David Herbert Lawrence, chapter 8 (1913)
2
To keep changing your mind or put off deciding something.
3
To act in a nervous, fidgety way.
4
(computing) To add small random variation to digital data or an image, to smooth out visible steps in colour or sound.
"Look at how pixelly this wall texture is. You almost don't even notice the dithering when driving by quick. Up close though, it's real chunky."
— Preston "Pretzel", Pretzel (2023)
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Etymology
Variant of didder, from Middle English dideren (“to tremble”). Compare Middle English bididren, bididdren (“to seduce, deceive”), from Old English bedidrian, bedyderian (“to deceive, trick”). Alternatively, perhaps with expressive voicing from *titeren, from Proto-Germanic *titrōną. If so, then a doublet of teeter and cognate with Old High German zittarōn (German zittern) and Old Norse titra (Faroese titra, Icelandic titra). Alternatively an unrelated reduplicative onomatopoeia.
Synonyms
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Rhymes for dither
See all rhymes for dither →Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of dither?
"dither" (verb) means to quiver, shudder, or shake.
What is another word for dither?
Other words for "dither" include flap, pother.
What are the different meanings of dither?
"dither" has 3 main meanings: 1. To quiver, shudder, or shake; 2. To keep changing your mind or put off deciding something; 3. To act in a nervous, fidgety way.
