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 housing ministry said it had been taking "tough and decisive action after years of dither and delay" which would speed up the "unacceptably slow" pace of work.

From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2025

Providing this road map of his intentions puts Smith on firm footing to challenge the judge if she continues to dither.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 4, 2024

To dither and dally when the window of opportunity opens means to end up with one’s nose pressed against the glass of fate, gazing with regret at what might have been.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

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

And so even if Congress dithers after today, transparency is coming to platforms one way or another.

From The Verge ● May 5, 2022

But he just dithers or pouts or stares at her blankly while the bad guys close in.

From New York Times ● Mar. 29, 2022

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

Anyway, the one thing the examiners will not thole is a body that dithers.

From The Right Stuff Some Episodes in the Career of a North Briton by Ian Hay

Kinsky had earlier rushed out to stop Adam Armstrong reaching a long ball after Kevin Danso dithered and allowed the striker to sprint ahead.

From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026

The air force had flagged the need for new advanced fighter aircraft 25 years ago, but successive governments dithered on the purchase.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026

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

I’d dithered over what to tell her until it was time for bed.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

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

While the UK was "dithering", the US, Greece and France have all sent ships to Cyprus, she said.

From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026

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

From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026

Gaye is a dithering stage mother, and the younger cast members, looking to Charlie for guidance, have a reluctant mentor on their hands.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025

It was a pretense, his dithering refusal—he was one of the most confident people she had ever met.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan