as in handful
a small number
we received only a smatter of complaints about the book
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to patter
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Recent Examples of smatter
Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 6 Oct. 2022
Outside a car wash where two people died, a smatter of small bloodstains can still be seen on the white exterior wall.
—Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2019
The apartment is immaculate—done up in charcoal and silver, with gilded accents and a tasteful smatter of lucite.
—Mattie Kahn, Glamour, 14 Sep. 2018
Kara Baskin, BostonGlobe.com, 4 May 2023
Glover’s patchwork ethos is smattered across its seven installments.
—WIRED, 17 Mar. 2023
Lee is also now taking a smattering reps at first base as expected entering the spring.
—Michael Shapiro, Chron, 17 Mar. 2023
The movie is smattered with deep focus cinematography, led by the director of photography Jomo Fray.
—Omar Sanchez, EW.com, 17 Apr. 2020
During the class, remember to look out at the trees, to the sculptures smattered throughout, to the family of deer that will surely be grazing ahead.
—Zoe Ruffner, Vogue, 16 Aug. 2018
Who’s listening At UCF’s rehearsal hall, the crowd of 50 or so is smattered throughout the seats watching the New Music Ensemble perform pieces written by students.
—Trevor Fraser, OrlandoSentinel.com, 27 Apr. 2018
Groping blindly, European and especially British explorers began trying to map this seascape beginning in the late 1500s – leading to a series of small advances, smattered with setbacks and tragedies, over centuries.
—Chris Mooney, Anchorage Daily News, 21 Dec. 2017
Noun
As part of the show, the Design Museum invited artists to create new clock faces; there is also a smatter of Chicago clock history, and recently included, remarkably, the original wooden hands from the Wrigley Building’s clock face, located by Samuelson on eBay.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 6 Oct. 2022
Outside a car wash where two people died, a smatter of small bloodstains can still be seen on the white exterior wall.
—Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2019
The apartment is immaculate—done up in charcoal and silver, with gilded accents and a tasteful smatter of lucite.
—Mattie Kahn, Glamour, 14 Sep. 2018
Verb
Another version is dotted with oily little pepperoni cups and smattered with hot honey: simple and satisfying.
—Kara Baskin, BostonGlobe.com, 4 May 2023
Glover’s patchwork ethos is smattered across its seven installments.
—WIRED, 17 Mar. 2023
Lee is also now taking a smattering reps at first base as expected entering the spring.
—Michael Shapiro, Chron, 17 Mar. 2023
The movie is smattered with deep focus cinematography, led by the director of photography Jomo Fray.
—Omar Sanchez, EW.com, 17 Apr. 2020
During the class, remember to look out at the trees, to the sculptures smattered throughout, to the family of deer that will surely be grazing ahead.
—Zoe Ruffner, Vogue, 16 Aug. 2018
Who’s listening At UCF’s rehearsal hall, the crowd of 50 or so is smattered throughout the seats watching the New Music Ensemble perform pieces written by students.
—Trevor Fraser, OrlandoSentinel.com, 27 Apr. 2018
Groping blindly, European and especially British explorers began trying to map this seascape beginning in the late 1500s – leading to a series of small advances, smattered with setbacks and tragedies, over centuries.
—Chris Mooney, Anchorage Daily News, 21 Dec. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smatter
Noun
-
Effective verification would likely entail having the abductor — or abductee — provide a unique piece of information only a handful of people would know.—
Chris Kenning,
USA Today,
8 Feb. 2026
-
But research from both academics and conservative groups suggests removing undocumented immigrants from the census would shift only a handful of seats — not the sweeping advantage critics claim.—
Christian Datoc,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Benito finds community with the like-minded Pleneros de la Cresta, who have been playing the island’s pattering folk music for over a decade.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
2 Dec. 2025
-
As rain pattered against windows, and trees lining the streets swayed, flurries of urgent texts began ricocheting from one end of the neighborhood to the other, and panic set in as some residents put on their shoes and hurried out the door.—
Danya Gainor,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Prosecutors allege Richins poisoned her husband with a cocktail laced with illicit fentanyl while the couple was celebrating at their home in March 2022.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Seoul, South Korea — Excited young couples roam a bustling convention center trying on baby carriers, testing strollers and learning the latest safety features of car seats.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Erinys doesn't prate about democracy or social betterment but simply guards oil pipelines.—
Bruce Sterling,
WIRED,
1 July 2004
Verb
-
The nature of the American political system propagates scads of lawyers and poseurs who blather on endlessly, promising everything and delivering little.—
Laura Washington,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Understanding the absurdity of one trillion anything makes the $38 trillion US national debt that economists have been blathering on about for years look almost sensible.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
But rather than keep his discover quiet, the OP—much to everyone else's disappointment—blabbered.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
As André Van Peteghem, Dumont cast Fabrice Luchini, whose dialectical extravagance and theatrical exuberance lend his character, a blithering sybaritic fop, the pathos of a physical infirmity matched by the physical comedy of the accident-prone.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
10 Mar. 2017
Verb
-
But when the disheveled, withdrawn ex-friend shows up in the locker room gibbering about an evil spirit, Sam is mortified, impulsively knocking to the ground the grungy-looking Mason jar that Tamira has been carrying around.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
18 Sep. 2023
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For a while, police interest bent toward a Phud who had been warned he might be eliminated from the program, who had seemed almost exultant about the fire and gibbered gleefully about the media spotlight.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Smatter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smatter. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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