scattered

[ skat-erd ]

adjective

1. distributed or occurring at widely spaced and usually irregular intervals:

   scattered villages; scattered showers.

2. dispersed; disorganized:

   scattered forces.

3. distracted or disorganized:

   scattered thoughts.

4. Meteorology. (of clouds) covering up to one-half of the sky. Compare broken ( def 5 ).

Other Words From

• scattered·ly adverb
• scattered·ness noun
• un·scattered adjective
• well-scattered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of scattered¹

scatter + -ed ²

Example Sentences

Arena Calibrate is one tool that ticks both boxes by being able to pull scattered data silos into one place and provide summaries of your performance across all channels.

From Search Engine Land

A slight chance of a shower exists late in the day, with more scattered shower chances overnight under cloudy skies and lows in the low to mid-60s.

From Washington Post

By early afternoon, another round of scattered showers and storms seems likely to develop to the west.

From Washington Post

That Lopez ranks as one of the industry’s most electric live entertainers has made her especially suited to dazzle and distract us during a tough year, performing at scattered telethons, award shows, and events.

From The Daily Beast

There are more than 1 million new infections every week in the United States, and scientists at scattered universities and research institutions are looking at only a few thousand genomic sequences weekly.

From Washington Post

Scattered here and there were the corpses of horses and donkeys.

From The Daily Beast

Scattered around the country are members of a small fraternity of guys who own tanks.

From The Daily Beast

Scattered on the sidewalk, just beneath the flickering bulbs, were a handful of honeybees.

From The Daily Beast

Scattered on the floor were pages of what would become Naked Lunch.

From The Daily Beast

Scattered around the room are the paintings that his wife did, in a burst of creativity, during the last months of her life.

From The Daily Beast

Scattered about are several great English elms, which were no doubt large trees during the poet's boyhood, a hundred years ago.

From Project Gutenberg

Scattered along the road for the whole distance was Jerry's band riding at leisure.

From Project Gutenberg

Scattered among these tall ones were white and yellow oaks; and they would be considered giants if standing alone.

From Project Gutenberg

Scattered throughout these pages are numerous verses, some original, some well-known students' songs.

From Project Gutenberg

Scattered all through the land were sumptuous dwellings of the rich, upon which fortunes were lavished.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• intermittent
• isolated
• occasional
• sporadic