Scatter \Scat"ter\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Scattered; p. pr. &
vb. n. Scattering.] [OE. scateren. See Shatter.]
1. To strew about; to sprinkle around; to throw down loosely;
to deposit or place here and there, esp. in an open or
sparse order.
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And some are scattered all the floor about.
--Chaucer.
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Why should my muse enlarge on Libyan swains,
Their scattered cottages, and ample plains?
--Dryden.
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Teach the glad hours to scatter, as they fly,
Soft quiet, gentle love, and endless joy. --Prior.
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2. To cause to separate in different directions; to reduce
from a close or compact to a loose or broken order; to
dissipate; to disperse.
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Scatter and disperse the giddy Goths. --Shak.
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3. Hence, to frustrate, disappoint, and overthrow; as, to
scatter hopes, plans, or the like.
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Syn: To disperse; dissipate; spread; strew.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Scatter \Scat"ter\, v. i.
To be dispersed or dissipated; to disperse or separate; as,
clouds scatter after a storm.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
scatter
n 1: a haphazard distribution in all directions [syn: spread]
2: the act of scattering [syn: scattering, strewing]
v 1: to cause to separate and go in different directions; "She
waved her hand and scattered the crowds" [syn: disperse,
dissipate, dispel, break up]
2: move away from each other; "The crowds dispersed"; "The
children scattered in all directions when the teacher
approached"; [syn: disperse, dissipate, spread out]
3: distribute loosely; "He scattered gun powder under the
wagon" [syn: sprinkle, dot, dust, disperse]
4: sow by scattering; "scatter seeds"
5: cause to separate; "break up kidney stones"; "disperse
particles" [syn: break up, disperse]
6: strew or distribute over an area; "He spread fertilizer over
the lawn"; "scatter cards across the table" [syn: spread,
spread out]
WordNet (r) 2.0
161 Moby Thesaurus words for "scatter":
atomize, bend, besprinkle, bestrew, bias, blow, break into pieces,
break to pieces, break up, broadcast, cast, circulate, circumfuse,
clutter, confound, crash, crook, crunch, crush, curve,
cut to pieces, deactivate, deal out, debrief, deflect, deflection,
deflexure, demob, demobilize, demolish, derange, detach, deviate,
diffract, diffraction, diffuse, diffusion, disarrange, disarray,
disband, discard, discharge, discomfit, dishevel, disintegrate,
disjoin, dislocate, dismiss, disorder, disorganize, dispel,
dispense, disperse, dispersion, dispread, disrupt, disseminate,
dissipate, dissolve, distort, distortion, distribute, diverge,
divert, divide, dogleg, ease, ease off, emanate, fan out, fission,
flection, flexure, fragment, free, gamble away, go off,
go separate ways, go through, grind, hairpin, hang the expense,
issue, lavish, let go, let up, litter, loose, loosen,
make mincemeat of, mess, mess up, mince, misarrange, muss, muss up,
muster out, overscatter, oversow, overspread, panic, part,
part company, propagate, publish, pull, pulverize, put to flight,
put to rout, radiate, ray, refract, refraction, relax, release,
retail, rout, ruffle, rumple, run through, seize the day, separate,
sever, shatter, shed, shiver, shower, skew, skewness, slack,
slack off, slacken, slather, smash, smash up, sow, sow broadcast,
splay, splinter, split up, spread, spread out, sprinkle, squander,
squash, squish, stampede, straw, strew, throw away,
throw money around, torsion, tousle, turn, twist, unglue, unleash,
unstick, utter, warp, zigzag
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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