as in handful
a small number
played before only a scatter of spectators in that huge stadium
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to disperse
to cause (members of a group) to move widely apart
the noise of the backfiring car scattered the pigeons
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in to dissipate
to go off in different directions and cease to exist as a body or unified whole
these drunken revelers will quickly scatter when the police arrive
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of scatter
Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 6 July 2025
Sunlight is made up of different colors, and blue light scatters easily in the atmosphere, while red light travels more directly, said NASA.
—Diana Leyva, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
Diana Leyva, Nashville Tennessean, 5 Sep. 2025
That's because colors with shorter wavelengths, such as blues and violets, scatter more easily than colors with longer wavelengths, which include red and orange.
—Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scatter
Noun
To date, all items raised from the Titanic have been recovered from within a 15-square-mile debris field — a vast underwater scatter zone formed when the ship broke apart during its final descent.
—Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 6 July 2025
Sunlight is made up of different colors, and blue light scatters easily in the atmosphere, while red light travels more directly, said NASA.
—Diana Leyva, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
Verb
The dog-centric venue features a full-service bar, a variety of dining options, specialty coffee drinks and large TVs are scattered throughout.
—Diana Leyva, Nashville Tennessean, 5 Sep. 2025
That's because colors with shorter wavelengths, such as blues and violets, scatter more easily than colors with longer wavelengths, which include red and orange.
—Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scatter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scatter
Noun
-
The defensive line is far too often out of alignment, the midfield is still searching for balance between security and verve, while the front three are lucky to combine more than a handful of times per game.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
1 Sep. 2025
-
Julie Tremaine Where to Eat Besides the restaurants at Ocean House, Watch Hill has a handful of restaurants all on and around the easily walkable Bay Street.—
Julie Tremaine,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
With tens of thousands of attendees having now dispersed, vital witnesses or clues could be lost.—
Matthew Robinson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Several local agencies from neighboring towns were called in to assist in dispersing the unruly crowd, and no injuries were reported among the officers.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
That's despite calls from agency staff for Kennedy to tone down such rhetoric after a gunman—who was influenced by vaccine misinformation and the vilification of the public health agency—sprayed the CDC campus with over 500 rounds and killed a local police officer last month.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Rather than spraying the formula directly onto her skin, our tester applied it to a cotton round instead.—
Esme Benjamin,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Much resistance to multifamily housing in single-family neighborhoods would dissipate if the state would require landlords to maintain their property, said Fayetteville resident Angela Belford of the Belford Group marketing firm.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
4 Sep. 2025
-
However, Milei could surprise critics by pragmatically adjusting his economic model to dissipate internal tensions while maintaining political centrality sufficient to win upcoming midterm elections and re-election in 2027.—
Agustino Fontevecchia,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Sean Duffy and some of the couple’s children were also in the segment, and it was filmed in the New Jersey home.—
Robert Faturechi,
ProPublica,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Ford, an Eagle High School graduate, has had to wait to shine because of a series of injuries over the past couple of years.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
After years of the NBA largely being split between linear TV networks ABC, ESPN and TNT (with some NBA TV sprinkled in), the new rights deal will be far more streaming-centric.—
John Cassillo,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Raisins are also super easy to sprinkle on yogurt, cereal, and salads, and can find their way into baked goods and even savory dinner dishes like pasta.—
Abby Norman,
Verywell Health,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Join the thousands of shoppers who have already scooped up these under-the-radar sales that are about to disappear.—
Isabel Garcia,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Examples include a Brazilian boy who had his pancreatic malformation disappear in 2013.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The large lobby-level bar is dotted with couches and an open fireplace.—
Heather Richardson,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Unsurpringly, 50 pieces of rodent regularity dotted the floor of the dry storage shed and three rodent droppings under the Frosty machine.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scatter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scatter. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share