swither

American

[swith-er] / ˈswɪð ər /

noun

British Dialect.

a state of confusion, excitement, or perplexity.

swither British

/ ˈswɪðər /

verb

to hesitate; vacillate; be perplexed

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

hesitation; perplexity; agitation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of swither

1495–1505; origin uncertain; compare Old English geswithrian to retire, dwindle, fail

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But take a few steps towards the painting in all its astounding veracity and the vision swithers.

From The Guardian

One can also be "in a swither", a state of indecision or doubt, a pondering, hesitation, uncertainty.

From BBC

Space swithers between two and three dimensions, the men seem variously giants or midgets, the sea appears flat as a picture; and time becomes mysterious too.

From The Guardian

Even seemed to swither: was Morvern's striking amorality, her disavowal of cause and effect, inexplicable or just not explained?

From The Guardian

Flesh and bluid canna endure that—it wad gar a horse swither.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023