Adjacent Words

Scatter definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SCAT'TER, v.t. [L. scateo, discutio; Gr. to scatter, to discuss. This word may be formed on the root of discutio. The primary sense is to drive or throw.]
1. To disperse; to dissipate; to separate or remove things to a distance from each other.
From thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Genesis 11.
I will scatter you among the heathen. Leviticus 26.
2. To throw loosely about; to sprinkle; as, to scatter seed in sowing.
Teach the glad hours to scatter, as they fly, soft quiet, gentle love and endless joy.
3. To spread or set thinly.
Why should my muse enlarge on Libyan swains, their scatter'd cottages, and ample plains.
SCAT'TER, v.i.
1. To be dispersed or dissipated. The clouds scatter after a storm.
2. To be liberal to the poor; to be charitable. Proverbs 11.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a haphazard distribution in all directions [syn: scatter, spread]
2: the act of scattering [syn: scatter, scattering, strewing] v
1: to cause to separate and go in different directions; "She waved her hand and scattered the crowds" [syn: disperse, dissipate, dispel, break up, scatter]
2: move away from each other; "The crowds dispersed"; "The children scattered in all directions when the teacher approached"; [syn: disperse, dissipate, scatter, spread out]
3: distribute loosely; "He scattered gun powder under the wagon" [syn: scatter, sprinkle, dot, dust, disperse]
4: sow by scattering; "scatter seeds"
5: cause to separate; "break up kidney stones"; "disperse particles" [syn: break up, disperse, scatter]
6: strew or distribute over an area; "He spread fertilizer over the lawn"; "scatter cards across the table" [syn: spread, scatter, spread out]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle English scateren, schateren to disperse, break up, destroy; akin to Middle Dutch schaderen to scatter Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to cause to separate widely b. to cause to vanish 2. archaic to fling away heedlessly ; squander 3. to distribute irregularly 4. to sow by casting in all directions ; strew 5. a. to reflect irregularly and diffusely b. to cause (a beam of radiation) to diffuse or disperse 6. to divide into ineffectual small portions intransitive verb 1. to separate and go in various directions ; disperse 2. to occur or fall irregularly or at random • scatterer noun Synonyms: scatter, disperse, dissipate, dispel mean to cause to separate or break up. scatter implies a force that drives parts or units irregularly in many directions <the bowling ball scattered the pins>. disperse implies a wider separation and a complete breaking up of a mass or group <police dispersed the crowd>. dissipate stresses complete disintegration or dissolution and final disappearance <the fog was dissipated by the morning sun>. dispel stresses a driving away or getting rid of as if by scattering <an authoritative statement that dispelled all doubt>. II. noun Date: 1642 1. the act of scattering 2. a small quantity or number irregularly distributed or strewn about ; scattering 3. the state or extent of being scattered; especially dispersion

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 tr. a throw here and there; strew (scattered gravel on the road). b cover by scattering (scattered the road with gravel). 2 tr. & intr. a move or cause to move in flight etc.; disperse (scattered to safety at the sound). b disperse or cause (hopes, clouds, etc.) to disperse. 3 tr. (as scattered adj.) not clustered together; wide apart; sporadic (scattered villages). 4 tr. Physics deflect or diffuse (light, particles, etc.). 5 a intr. (of esp. a shotgun) fire a charge of shot diffusely. b tr. fire (a charge) in this way. --n. 1 the act or an instance of scattering. 2 a small amount scattered. 3 the extent of distribution of esp. shot. Phrases and idioms: scatter cushions (or rugs, etc.) cushions, rugs, etc., placed here and there for effect. scatter-shot n. & adj. US firing at random. Derivatives: scatterer n. Etymology: ME, prob. var. of SHATTER

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Scatter Scat"ter, v. i. To be dispersed or dissipated; to disperse or separate; as, clouds scatter after a storm.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Scatter Scat"ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Scattered; p. pr. & vb. n. Scattering.] [OE. scateren. See Shatter.] 1. To strew about; to sprinkle around; to throw down loosely; to deposit or place here and there, esp. in an open or sparse order. And some are scattered all the floor about. --Chaucer. Why should my muse enlarge on Libyan swains, Their scattered cottages, and ample plains? --Dryden. Teach the glad hours to scatter, as they fly, Soft quiet, gentle love, and endless joy. --Prior. 2. To cause to separate in different directions; to reduce from a close or compact to a loose or broken order; to dissipate; to disperse. Scatter and disperse the giddy Goths. --Shak. 3. Hence, to frustrate, disappoint, and overthrow; as, to scatter hopes, plans, or the like. Syn: To disperse; dissipate; spread; strew.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(scatters, scattering, scattered) 1. If you scatter things over an area, you throw or drop them so that they spread all over the area. She tore the rose apart and scattered the petals over the grave... He began by scattering seed and putting in plants. VERB: V n prep/adv, V n 2. If a group of people scatter or if you scatter them, they suddenly separate and move in different directions. After dinner, everyone scattered... The cavalry scattered them and chased them off the field. VERB: V, V n 3. see also scattered, scattering

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Strew, sprinkle, throw about loosely. 2. Sprinkle on, besprinkle. 3. Dissipate, disperse, separate, spread. 4. Disunite, distract, confound, harass. 5. Dispel, frustrate, disappoint, overthrow. II. v. n. Disperse, straggle, go at random.

Moby Thesaurus

atomize, bend, besprinkle, bestrew, bias, blow, break into pieces, break to pieces, break up, broadcast, cast, circulate, circumfuse, clutter, confound, crash, crook, crunch, crush, curve, cut to pieces, deactivate, deal out, debrief, deflect, deflection, deflexure, demob, demobilize, demolish, derange, detach, deviate, diffract, diffraction, diffuse, diffusion, disarrange, disarray, disband, discard, discharge, discomfit, dishevel, disintegrate, disjoin, dislocate, dismiss, disorder, disorganize, dispel, dispense, disperse, dispersion, dispread, disrupt, disseminate, dissipate, dissolve, distort, distortion, distribute, diverge, divert, divide, dogleg, ease, ease off, emanate, fan out, fission, flection, flexure, fragment, free, gamble away, go off, go separate ways, go through, grind, hairpin, hang the expense, issue, lavish, let go, let up, litter, loose, loosen, make mincemeat of, mess, mess up, mince, misarrange, muss, muss up, muster out, overscatter, oversow, overspread, panic, part, part company, propagate, publish, pull, pulverize, put to flight, put to rout, radiate, ray, refract, refraction, relax, release, retail, rout, ruffle, rumple, run through, seize the day, separate, sever, shatter, shed, shiver, shower, skew, skewness, slack, slack off, slacken, slather, smash, smash up, sow, sow broadcast, splay, splinter, split up, spread, spread out, sprinkle, squander, squash, squish, stampede, straw, strew, throw away, throw money around, torsion, tousle, turn, twist, unglue, unleash, unstick, utter, warp, zigzag