Hesitated to change, having dined out (8)
I believe the answer is:
faltered
'hesitated' is the definition.
(faltering is a kind of hesitating)
'having dined out' is the wordplay.
'having' becomes 'alter' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'dined' becomes 'fed'.
'out' indicates putting letters inside.
'alter' inserted into 'fed' is 'FALTERED'.
'to change' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for faltered that I've seen before include "was hesitant" , "Hesitated, moved unsteadily" , "Failed" .)