as in goofy
lacking in seriousness or maturity
a scatterbrained child who couldn't seem to pay attention or stop fooling around
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Recent Examples of scatterbrained
The company enlisted Donald Duck’s scatterbrained cartoon uncle, Prof. Ludwig Von Drake, in a video on votedisney.com to make its case that Disney’s current board members are up to the job.
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Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2024
Meanwhile, Hudson turns up her ditz-o-meter to 11, twirling and screaming her way through a performance that should remind Hollywood of her singular scatterbrained talents.
—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2022
Trying to stay organized can be a real pain, especially for those of us who may be a bit scatterbrained.
—Chris Hachey, BGR, 22 June 2021
President Biden had another dismal week thanks to the accelerating border crisis, the beginnings of his assault on the Second Amendment, Vice President Kamala Harris’s behavior and his scatterbrained performance at a Thursday news conference.
—Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner, 27 Mar. 2021
Sadat cast Afghan nonactors to paint a scatterbrained picture of parentless adolescence, and outstanding production design immerses us in this historical remembrance.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2021
Donald Moffat is superb as a president who masks his ferocity with scatterbrained folksiness.
—Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Aug. 2020
As her frustration mounted and her school progress stalled, Kristine indulged in a series of minor rebellions — ignoring assignments, disrupting class, and affecting a scatterbrained personality in a bid for popularity.
—Jason Deparle, New York Times, 9 Aug. 2019
He was noticed in what Itzkoff depicts with relish as a scatterbrained television business.
—David Thomson, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 May 2018
Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2024
Meanwhile, Hudson turns up her ditz-o-meter to 11, twirling and screaming her way through a performance that should remind Hollywood of her singular scatterbrained talents.
—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2022
Trying to stay organized can be a real pain, especially for those of us who may be a bit scatterbrained.
—Chris Hachey, BGR, 22 June 2021
President Biden had another dismal week thanks to the accelerating border crisis, the beginnings of his assault on the Second Amendment, Vice President Kamala Harris’s behavior and his scatterbrained performance at a Thursday news conference.
—Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner, 27 Mar. 2021
Sadat cast Afghan nonactors to paint a scatterbrained picture of parentless adolescence, and outstanding production design immerses us in this historical remembrance.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2021
Donald Moffat is superb as a president who masks his ferocity with scatterbrained folksiness.
—Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Aug. 2020
As her frustration mounted and her school progress stalled, Kristine indulged in a series of minor rebellions — ignoring assignments, disrupting class, and affecting a scatterbrained personality in a bid for popularity.
—Jason Deparle, New York Times, 9 Aug. 2019
He was noticed in what Itzkoff depicts with relish as a scatterbrained television business.
—David Thomson, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 May 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scatterbrained
Adjective
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Later in the evening, the two musicians posed for photos backstage, serving up some goofy poses and clearly enjoying themselves.Jack Irvin, People.com, 21 Nov. 2024
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Eddie and Venom’s relationship is goofy bordering on insane, and the limitations do indeed start to show in The Last Dance.James Grebey, TIME, 25 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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In this show, everyone has their distinct personalities — Reneé as Leighton is sassy and dry and Pauline as Kimberly is sweet and a little silly, for example.Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Nov. 2024
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Here was this band of rebellious and silly kids in bright clothes rapping their asses off.Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 20 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The roar from the terraces when Kohli enters the crease, like Tendulkar before him, is deafening and generates the same giddy reactions anywhere in the world.Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2024
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In his early writeups, Killian adopts, or perhaps apes, a tone of giddy consumerism.Oscar Schwartz, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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In 2016, more than 80 percent of Taiwanese people believed that resistance in a potential conflict with China would be futile; by 2022, the proportion of the population expressing this view had nearly halved to 43 percent.David Sacks, Foreign Affairs, 8 Nov. 2024
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After making a futile effort to revive Asahi with chest compressions, Masa orders No. 17 to sleep and then to wake again.Chris Klimek, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near scatterbrained
Cite this Entry
“Scatterbrained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scatterbrained. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
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