SCATTERED

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does scattered mean? 

• SCATTERED (adjective)
  The adjective SCATTERED has 2 senses:

1. occurring or distributed over widely spaced and irregular intervals in time or space

2. lacking orderly continuity

  Familiarity information: SCATTERED used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SCATTERED (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Occurring or distributed over widely spaced and irregular intervals in time or space

Context example:

scattered villages

Similar:

distributed (spread out or scattered about or divided up)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Lacking orderly continuity

Synonyms:

confused; disconnected; disjointed; disordered; garbled; illogical; scattered; unconnected

Context example:

scattered thoughts

Similar:

incoherent (without logical or meaningful connection)

 Context examples 

After a few minutes, by the time the white men had got over their surprise, the gang scattered.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Its hills are covered with vines, and its cottages are scattered thickly in the plains.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

And now after passing Holmesley Walk and the Wooton Heath, the forest began to shred out into scattered belts of trees, with gleam of corn-field and stretch of pasture-land between.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The others had also retired, and my master was sitting alone at the table, with his empty bottle and the scattered cards in front of him.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

On examination traces of blood were to be seen upon the windowsill, and several scattered drops were visible upon the wooden floor of the bedroom.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

When it was noon, Gretel shared her piece of bread with Hansel, who had scattered his by the way.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Emma was pleased with the thought; and producing the box, the table was quickly scattered over with alphabets, which no one seemed so much disposed to employ as their two selves.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Some silkworms' houses, made of the same materials, are scattered over the desks.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Scattered around were many houses made entirely of china and painted in the brightest colors.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

I rose and examined carefully the different billets of wood which were scattered round the floor.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)