SCATTERSHOT Synonyms: 71 Similar and Opposite Words

scattershot

adjective

Definition of scattershot

as in haphazard

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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 scattershot Some hospitals have started to run their own numbers, but the effort is scattershot. — Duaa Eldeib, CNN Money, 8 May 2026 Some Republicans are also frustrated with the administration’s scattershot messaging, particularly around last year’s signature tax law, according to a GOP operative who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. — Bloomberg, Oc Register, 7 May 2026 There’s something of a profit panic as the company tries to figure out how to make money from its scattershot AI enterprises, while Claude Code and Cowork from Anthropic emerged as the winners for enterprise AI spending. — Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, 29 Apr. 2026 Bondi’s scattershot compliance of that law drew outrage from victims. — Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for scattershot

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scattershot

Adjective

Communication with employees about the requirement to move to new offices has been haphazard, workers at six agencies said.

— Chiara Eisner, NPR, 3 Aug. 2026
This fencing appeared to have been lifted up and twisted, landing in a mangled and haphazard manner.

— Mike Stunson, USA Today, 29 July 2026

Definition of haphazard

Adjective

Those reactions can look like freak weather, but the judgment underneath them isn’t random.

— ESMT Berlin, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
In partnership with research firm ETC Institute, the city also mailed surveys to a random sample of at least 500 households across Elgin.

— Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of random

Adjective

The underlying logic is that these elements of the bachelor’s degree, which are not intrinsic to a student’s area of study or necessary for their professional preparedness, are incidental to the overall value of the degree.

— Christopher Rim, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
In 2023, my cat was diagnosed with abdominal cancer, completely incidental on exam.

— Dana Taylor, USA Today, 29 July 2026

Definition of incidental

Adjective

After Fever guard Sophie Cunningham expressed her opinion that transgender girls don’t belong in youth sports, the W has once again become an inadvertent political prop in a larger conversation.

— Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
While taxpayers would still need to report their foreign financial accounts, combining two separate filing systems into one would eliminate a source of confusion that has resulted in many inadvertent filing failures.

— Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of inadvertent

Adjective

Through sporadic radio contact, engineers discovered a problem with some of the spacecraft’s cold gas thrusters used for finer attitude control.

— Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 1 Aug. 2026
There is little data on the extent of the fraud cases, because reporting is so sporadic and scattered across dozens of agencies.

— Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2026

Definition of sporadic

Adjective

Where season three frustrated with its aimless pacing, its unruly plotting, its self-congratulatory strain of goodness, new showrunner Jack Burditt (30 Rock, Modern Family) dials back the worst of the show’s excesses.

— Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 5 Aug. 2026
Some jokes, including a riff on the history of the Wright Brothers, feel vaguely Dada, as if Marino and Wain had spent a long, happy stretch of aimless days drinking coffee and free-associating.

— Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 10 July 2026

Definition of aimless

Browse Nearby Words

scatters

scattershot

scatting

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Style

“Scattershot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scattershot. Accessed 9 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of scattershot

adjective

Example Sentences

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