'to dither' as synonym for 'to hesitate'?

Question

The verb to dither means to hesitate about what to do because you are unable to decide

The verb to hesitate means to be slow to speak or act because you feel uncertain or nervous

The usage of to dither in comparision to to hesitate is very seldom.

Moreover looking up to dither with google search, give this results:

• sense of weakness
• not in control of the hesitation
• pejorative

It seems to me as it is colloquial and informal.

In my understanding, the verb to dither emphasizes the inability to decide, whereas to hesitate just emphasizes a break to think about it.

1. Is it correct, that to dither is informal and colloquial?

2. When I want to emphasize the inability, do I use

   • to dither
   • to hesitate

   or another synonym? Which one is the best?

Answer 1

Dither means to be uncertain or indecisive as a verb and a state of indecision as a noun.

You can understand it more if you look at its probable root/origin. American Heritage dictionary lists its origin as- Alteration of didder, from Middle English didderen, to tremble.

It perhaps explain the occasional usage of dither for to tremble, as with cold

Broadly speaking, Hesitate and dither can be used as synonyms. And dither is not colloquial in the sense that it is perfectly acceptable in both US and UK English.

The usage of to dither in comparision to to hesitate is very seldom.

This could merely be due to hesitate being more widely known than dither to beginners and non-natives.

To emphasize the inability to decide, I would use 'dither' rather than hesitate. You could also use synonyms like : vacillate, waver, linger over.

Answer 2

I don't disagree with @Serrated Symphony's answer, but here's a bit more detail...

Firstly, as Wikipedia says, there's also the usage in digital audio and video processing, where dithering is a method of reducing unwanted distortion/artifacts (actually, although I've known this usage for years, I didn't understand the how or why until just now - I think it's quite interesting).

In the context of decision-making, I would say dithering implies actively oscillating between alternatives, where hesitating may simply imply taking time to decide because you're not actively considering the alternatives.

Per onomatomaniak's comment, dithering can often be quite protracted, whereas hesitation is normally brief.

Plus of course, there's the extremely common stock phrase I hesitate to ask, which actually is invariably immediately followed by the question with no delay. This one is normally just a cliched way of adding an element of deference to a request.

Answer 3

My sense is that "dither" means to go back and forth several times, while "hesitate" means either not to do anything or to take one step very slowly. You could be very confident and wise and still choose to hesitate; to dither, you'd have to be nervous or unsure or indecisive.

Answer 4

There is a difference in connotation I see as missing in the answers so far - I understand "dither" to mean hesitating for no good reason, whereas "hesitate" doesn't carry an implied judgement. If you say "He hesitates before making his decision" I perceive it as neutral, but if you say "He dithers..." it sounds like you think his decision-making skills are less than adequate.