scatterbrained
Britishadjective
Explanation
When you're feeling scatterbrained, you're confused and rattled. Many people feel a little scatterbrained when they first wake up in the morning, before they've had their coffee. The adjective scatterbrained is perfect for describing someone who's disorganized, flighty, and maybe a little silly. A scatterbrained teacher might spend ten minutes looking for his glasses before realizing, to the amusement of his class, that they're on his head. You might feel scatterbrained if you show up for an appointment on the wrong day, and you can call yourself a scatterbrain. Both words have been used in English since the mid-1700s to describe easily distracted people.
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.
Typical of the movie’s scatterbrained nature is the small drama it creates, then discards, about Guthrie’s past: He lived in Germany for years, though no one seems interested in whether this ended before the war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 24, 2025
Admirers call the animal “Bullwinkle” or “Rutt,” the latter in homage to a scatterbrained moose from the movie “Brother Bear.”
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 21, 2023
Some are very organized, and some are scatterbrained.
From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2023
Meanwhile, Hudson turns up her ditz-o-meter to 11, twirling and screaming her way through a performance that should remind Hollywood of her singular scatterbrained talents.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 22, 2022
Cleve Dobbins was a scatterbrained former Army M.P. in his for-ties.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
