scatter
has definitions from the field of botany
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[ verb ] to cause to separate and go in different directions, of crowds, for example
Examples "She waved her hand and scattered the crows." Used in print (The Providence Journal...)A_few drops of rain just before midnight , when Sarah_Vaughan was in_the_midst of her first number , scattered the more timid members of the audience briefly , but at this hour and with Sarah on the stand , most_of the listeners did n't care whether they got wet . Related terms |
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[ verb ] move away from each other
Synonyms Examples "The crowds dispersed" "The children scattered in all directions when the teacher approached"; Used in print (The Family Fallout Shelter. Office of Civil and Defence...)Radiation scatters somewhat like light . Related terms separate break volley aerosolise aerosolize dispersion dissipation |
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[ verb ] distribute loosely
Examples "He scattered gun powder under the wagon." Used in print (S. J. Perelman, The Rising Gorge. New York:...)What you were looking_for ( unless you make a hobby of collecting old tennis_rackets and fly screens ) eludes me , but to judge from phonograph_records scattered about a fumed_oak Victrola , you danced two tangos and a paso_doble , which must have been fairly enervating in that milieu . |
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[ verb ] (botany) sow by scattering
Examples "scatter seeds" Used in print (Helen Hooven Santmyer, "There Were Fences"...)Other flowers we might gather as we pleased : myrtle and white_violets from beneath the lilacs ; the lilacs themselves , that bloomed so prodigally but for_the_most_part beyond our reach ; snowballs ; hollyhock blossoms that , turned upside_down , make pink petticoated ladies ; and the little , dark_blue larkspur that scattered its seed everywhere . Related terms |
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[ verb ] cause to separate
Examples "break up kidney stones" "disperse particles" Used in print (Alex Gordon, The Cipher....)His thoughts were scattered by the sharp report of a rifle from the other side of the door . Related terms |
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[ verb ] strew or distribute over an area
Synonyms Examples "He spread fertilizer over the lawn" "scatter cards across the table" Related terms circulate circumfuse manure distribute birdlime spread spread |
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[ noun ] a haphazard distribution in all directions
Synonyms Related terms distribution diffuseness spread diffuse circulate spread disperse disperse spread |
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