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scattered |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Scattered \Scat"tered\, a. 1. Dispersed; dissipated; sprinkled, or loosely spread. 2. (Bot.) Irregular in position; having no regular order as scattered leaves. -- {Scat"tered*ly}, adv -- {Scat"tered*ness}, n. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: 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 And some are scattered all the floor about --Chaucer. Why should my muse enlarge on Libyan swains, Their scattered cottages, and ample plains? --Dryden. Teach the glad hours to scatter, as they fly, Soft quiet, gentle love, and endless joy. --Prior. 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. Scatter and disperse the giddy Goths. --Shak. 3. Hence to frustrate, disappoint, and overthrow; as to scatter hopes, plans, or the like Syn: To disperse; dissipate; spread; strew. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: scattered adj 1: occurring or distributed over widely spaced and irregular intervals in time or space; "scattered showers"; "scattered villages" 2: not close together in time; "isolated instances of rebellion"; "scattered fire"; "a stray bullet grazed his thigh" [syn: {isolated}, {stray}] 3: being distributed here and there without order "scattered leaves littered the sidewalk"; "don't forget to pick up the clothes lying strewn all over the floor" [syn: {strewn}] 4: lacking orderly continuity; "a confused set of instructions"; "a confused dream about the end of the world"; "disconnected fragments of a story"; "scattered thoughts" [syn: {confused}, {disconnected}, {disjointed}, {disordered}, {garbled}, {illogical}, {unconnected}]
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