as in goofy
lacking in seriousness or maturity
a scatterbrained child who couldn't seem to pay attention or stop fooling around
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Recent Examples of scatterbrained
Susan Blanchard co-starred as Tina Kelly, his scatterbrained housekeeper.
—
Marc Berman, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
The novel begins on a Monday afternoon like any other at its three adolescent central characters’ loving but scatterbrained aunt Xía’s house in Miami.
—Juan Vidal, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
The company enlisted Donald Duck’s scatterbrained cartoon uncle, Prof. Ludwig Von Drake, in a video on votedisney.com to make its case that Disney’s current board members are up to the job.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2024
Meanwhile, Hudson turns up her ditz-o-meter to 11, twirling and screaming her way through a performance that should remind Hollywood of her singular scatterbrained talents.
—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2022
Trying to stay organized can be a real pain, especially for those of us who may be a bit scatterbrained.
—Chris Hachey, BGR, 22 June 2021
President Biden had another dismal week thanks to the accelerating border crisis, the beginnings of his assault on the Second Amendment, Vice President Kamala Harris’s behavior and his scatterbrained performance at a Thursday news conference.
—Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner, 27 Mar. 2021
Donald Moffat is superb as a president who masks his ferocity with scatterbrained folksiness.
—Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Aug. 2020
Marc Berman, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
The novel begins on a Monday afternoon like any other at its three adolescent central characters’ loving but scatterbrained aunt Xía’s house in Miami.
—Juan Vidal, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
The company enlisted Donald Duck’s scatterbrained cartoon uncle, Prof. Ludwig Von Drake, in a video on votedisney.com to make its case that Disney’s current board members are up to the job.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2024
Meanwhile, Hudson turns up her ditz-o-meter to 11, twirling and screaming her way through a performance that should remind Hollywood of her singular scatterbrained talents.
—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2022
Trying to stay organized can be a real pain, especially for those of us who may be a bit scatterbrained.
—Chris Hachey, BGR, 22 June 2021
President Biden had another dismal week thanks to the accelerating border crisis, the beginnings of his assault on the Second Amendment, Vice President Kamala Harris’s behavior and his scatterbrained performance at a Thursday news conference.
—Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner, 27 Mar. 2021
Donald Moffat is superb as a president who masks his ferocity with scatterbrained folksiness.
—Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Aug. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scatterbrained
Adjective
-
All well and good—even if the log-line here may remind some of you of this goofy scene from the Sex and the City movie.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
28 May 2026
-
Scott fares much, much better, grounding the movie’s goofier dialogue in broadly credible conviction.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
Through the fuzz and the bad camera angles emerges an extraordinary catalogue of dummies, flicks, and feints, a hodge-podge of silly tricks.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
-
To lose that would be silly now.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
Her work is spirited, even downright giddy.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
Santa conducted a giddy postgame interview on the team’s television broadcast before descending the stairs into the clubhouse.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
Faced with total defeat, the Democrats finally gave up their futile efforts to undermine the public finance system by blocking Blakeman and agreed to recertify him for matching funds.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
29 May 2026
-
Harden may be one of the most prolific scorers of all time, but his attempts at winning a championship have been futile.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scatterbrained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scatterbrained. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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