scatter

1. 1.

   a haphazard distribution in all directions

   Synonymsspread

   Broaderdistribution

   Narrowerdiffuseness
2. 2.

   the act of scattering

   Synonymsscatteringstrewing

   Broaderspread

Other forms of scatter

plural

scatters·

past tense

scatterred·

present participle

scatterring·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about scatter

What does scatter mean?

scatter means "to cause to separate and go in different directions". That is the primary sense; the word has 8 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in scatter?

scatter has 2 syllables: scat-ter. The stress falls on "scat". In IPA it is /ˈskætɚ/.

What is another word for scatter?

Close synonyms include disperse, dissipate, dispel, break up, disperse. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is scatter a common word?

scatter is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.