dither

Elias has decided to stay put even as prices dither.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

And while Hamlet may dither in seeking revenge for his father’s murder, we don’t hope that the scheming Claudius gets away with it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026

The Royal College of Nursing has called for a "significant pay rise" and accused UK ministers of "dither and delay".

From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2025

“Dither, dither, dither,” said one insider involved in the discussions.

From BBC ● Nov. 16, 2024

She had worked herself up into a real dither.

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals

But the feature dithers in development, which becomes something of a running joke here; the shot of a stone-faced Mr. McElwee watching a ridiculous promo reel is a moment of perfectly understated comedy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

But as Jacy dithers and stalls in the July heat, so does the story, even as it wends toward the feverish, improbable rush of its climax.

From New York Times ● May 25, 2023

The narrator dithers over how much she wants a leadership position in this unofficial hierarchy of casual dismissiveness, earnestness avoidance and radical obsolescence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2021

Foster dithers over a clearance, the ball at his feet.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 30, 2019

And the high brass went into a dither to end all dithers as tapes of the received material reached the Pentagon and were translated into intelligible speech and pictures.

From The Machine That Saved The World by Murray Leinster

Beirut dithered away all of 2025 while U.S. envoy Tom Barrack pleaded with it to disarm Hezbollah.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026

It was a much quieter affair after the break but Parris was at hand to capitalise as Spurs dithered and were unable to clear the ball from the six-yard box.

From BBC ● May 7, 2023

Lansbury’s Jessica, on the other hand, never dithered.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2022

Colfax was a front-runner to succeed Greeley at the helm of the Tribune but faced resistance from his wife and hesitated to seek the job, which went to distinguished correspondent Whitelaw Reid while Colfax dithered.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 12, 2022

Eric, having dithered about joining, had finally committed himself, and now wore a badge proudly.

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

At the time, then Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes criticised "dithering" on the decision but said national security was important and must be respected.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

After months of burying the accusations, and more than two years of dithering, the International Criminal Court at last fired its prosecutor, Karim Khan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

After some dithering, I settled on my home state of New York.

From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026

It would rather binge-watch thousands of hours of trashy TV shows than deal with the dithering crew of space hippies to which it’s been assigned.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2025

“A Princess’s reception? A Royal Command?” she shrieked, dithering.

From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck