staggered

[stag-erd]

adjective

1. arranged in a series of alternating or continually overlapping intervals of time.

   Board members serve staggered four-year terms, with new directors replacing outgoing ones each year.

2. arranged so as to alternate on either side of a center.

   A circular base approximately 2 meters in diameter is placed atop a couple of staggered layers of brick to allow for aeration from below.

3. scheduled or ordered in gradual stages; phased.

   Microsoft has confirmed that the new update will be a staggered release.

4. rendered helpless with astonishment; shocked.

   Shakespeare’s King Lear questions everything we know, posing to our staggered imaginations the possibility that the cosmos is immoral, even malevolent.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of stagger.

Other Word Forms

• unstaggered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of staggered¹

stagger ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

“You shouldn’t be here,” a voice rumbles from the far end, like a dozen staggered blasts of thunder.

Read more on Literature

Like a man in leg irons he staggered to his feet.

Read more on Literature

Blockchain data from Glassnode show coins that have been dormant since 2010-13 moving for the first time — not in panic but in “persistent, staggered distribution.”

Read more on MarketWatch

To that end, Nike unveiled a blitz of gadgetry as it released the new Vomero model last month—a departure from the sneaker company’s tradition of more staggered product introductions.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The AI Act entered into force in August 2024, but enforcement for some of its rules for different types of AI tools has been staggered.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• astonished 
• awed 
• baffled 
• befuddled 
• dazed 
• mystified www.thesaurus.com
• perplexed 
• puzzled www.thesaurus.com
• rattled www.thesaurus.com
• shocked www.thesaurus.com
• startled 
• stunned 
• surprised www.thesaurus.com