Dithering husband in state, confused (8)
I believe the answer is:
hesitant
'dithering' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'husband in state confused' is the wordplay.
'husband' becomes 'h'.
'confused' indicates anagramming the letters.
'in'+'state'='instate'
'instate' is an anagram of 'esitant'.
'h'+'esitant'='HESITANT'
(Other definitions for hesitant that I've seen before include "Irresolute" , "Slow to speak or act" , "Reluctant, vacillating" , "Pausing - undecided" , "Slow through indecision" .)