Synonyms of scattered

scattered 1 of 2

adjective

as in random

lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern

a hodgepodge of scattered ideas that didn't add up to a clear hypothesis

Synonyms & Similar Words

• random
• arbitrary
• stray
• erratic
• sporadic
• haphazard
• lucky
• aimless
• accidental
• contingent
• casual
• desultory
• odd
• hit-or-miss
• irregular
• chance
• slapdash
• helter-skelter
• catch-as-catch-can
• incidental
• disorganized
• spot
• inadvertent
• unconsidered
• scattershot
• shotgun
• unsystematic
• directionless
• unplanned
• unintended
• indiscriminate
• unintentional
• fortuitous
• unpremeditated
• purposeless
• undirected
• disorderly
• undiscriminating
• fluky
• chancy
• objectless
• unselective

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• systematic
• organized
• regular
• orderly
• fixed
• stable
• constant
• continuous
• regular
• steady
• arranged
• established
• even
• methodical
• systematized
• set
• nonrandom
• aware
• managed
• planned
• conscious
• ordered
• deliberate
• thoughtful
• purposeful
• orchestrated
• willful

scattered

2 of 2

verb

past tense of scatter

1

as in dispersed

to cause (members of a group) to move widely apart

the noise of the backfiring car scattered the pigeons

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dispersed
• dissipated
• isolated
• disbanded
• dispelled
• squandered
• segregated
• separated
• diffused
• cleared out
• disseminated
• split (up)
• parted
• spread
• broke up
• diverged

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• collected
• gathered
• concentrated
• assembled
• clustered
• congregated
• ingathered
• united
• unified
• agglutinated
• conglomerated

2

as in sprayed

to cover by or as if by scattering something over or on

the hillside was scattered with boulders deposited by the last ice age

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sprayed
• sprinkled
• dotted
• peppered
• strewed
• spotted
• bestrewed
• dusted
• sowed
• speckled
• drizzled
• flecked
• studded
• blanketed
• dappled
• spattered
• stippled
• bespattered

3

as in dissipated

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

• dispersed
• dissipated
• disappeared
• faded
• dissolved
• disassembled
• divided
• evaporated
• separated
• spilled
• melted
• disbanded
• diverged
• forked
• fled
• went (away)
• branched (out)
• cleared
• broke up
• evanesced

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• gathered
• met
• congregated

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of scattered

Adjective

The scattered pieces of the former storm will likely drift over the Caribbean and soak Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Hispaniola with a few inches of rain, some of which will reach Florida. — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 31 Aug. 2026

The right words can turn scattered details into a workable plan. — Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2026

The scattered rain on Tuesday morning was simply not widespread or heavy enough to provide meaningful relief for the ongoing fires or drought conditions. — Lauren Bostwick, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026

While scattered thunderstorms may provide temporary improvement in localized areas, smoke conditions are expected to remain variable over Lake Huron as winds shift. — Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 17 July 2026

The right conversation could turn scattered effort into a working plan. — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 5 July 2026

If your data is messy, scattered or stale, the AI output fails. — Sagi Eliyahu, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026

At Mariposa Market in Willits, grocery items, wine bottles and other merchandise tumbled from shelves, leaving aisles littered with broken glass and scattered products. — Sofia Williams, Sacbee.com, 24 June 2026

March 21 – April 19 One direct message could turn scattered effort into actual teamwork. — Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 26 May 2026

Verb

It was carved by Quinhagak residents somewhere between 400 and 600 years ago and was one of thousands of cultural objects scattered along the coastline. — Samantha Watson, NPR, 19 Sep. 2026

Gay Rogers, who has lived with the flooding for 50 years, said speeding cars regularly send waves of water splashing to her front door, leaving trash scattered across her lawn. — Joan Murray, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2026

In fact, the view is even harder to reconstruct because it is scattered across a dozen agent logs instead of a dozen human inboxes. — Jakob Freund, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026

Meanwhile, the latest evidence of trouble at the Kennedy Center is scattered on the velvet carpet in the Grand Foyer, after a portion of its ceiling collapsed during a storm on September 4. — Janay Kingsberry, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2026

Other bugs fell into the water under the bank of photovoltaic lights scattered around the lake, but mayflies coated the light posts and the lights themselves. — Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2026

Photos released by the center showed chunks of ceiling material, dust and debris scattered across the red carpet. — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026

The project team says that only about one photon in 10 trillion is Raman-scattered. — Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 5 Sep. 2026

Friends told her that in the dining hall, where copies of the Review are often scattered like birdseed, some students were trashing the column. — Jesse Dougherty, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026