4 definitions found From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]: Scatter \Scat"ter\, verb (used without an object) To be dispersed or dissipated; to disperse or separate; as, clouds scatter after a storm. From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]: Scatter \Scat"ter\, verb (used with an object) [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) 2.0 [wn]: scatter noun 1: a haphazard distribution in all directions [syn: {spread}] 2: the act of scattering [syn: {scattering}, {strewing}] verb 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}] From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]: 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

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