jitter

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) A nervous action; a tic.
2. (countable, in-plural, often, uncountable, with-definite-article) A state of nervousness.
3. (countable, uncountable) An abrupt and unwanted variation of one or more signal characteristics.
4. (countable, uncountable) A random positioning of data points to avoid visual overlap.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To be nervous.
2. To position data points randomly to avoid visual overlap.

Synonyms

flutter

bounce

become irritable

throb

fidget

feel nervous

fright

frisson

fugitiveness

hopping

horror

imbalance

instability

jarring

jitterbug

jittering

jump

jumping

kerfuffle

kick

lability

motion

nervous

nervousness

panic

pulsation

pulse

quiver

run-out

shimmy

shiver

stagger

straggling

terror

throbbing

tremor

twitch

vibration

whipping

wobble

be nervous

fear

😨

clock error

wiggliness

velocity misalignment

beat

deer in the headlights

consternation

divergence

fibrillation

Translations

temblor

gigue

φόβος

flattern

τρέμω

zittern

τρομάζω

ρίγος

τρεμούλα

εκνευρίζομαι

رُعْبٌ

Furcht

😨

Grauen

Panik

هول

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈd͡ʒɪtə(ɹ)/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: chittern

In summary

Possibly alteration of chitter (“to tremble, shiver”), from Middle English chittern (“to twitter, chatter”). Ultimately onomatopoeic; compare didder and teeter as well as German zittern.