scatterbrained
/ˈskætə(ɹ)ˌbɹeɪnd/adjective
scatterbrained is spelled S-C-A-T-T-E-R-B-R-A-I-N-E-D: 14 letters. It appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 114,361st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, scatterbrained means “Having the qualities of a scatterbrain: absent-minded, forgetful, easily distracted” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in scatterbrained?
| Letters | 14: S-C-A-T-T-E-R-B-R-A-I-N-E-D |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 14 million words; the 114,361st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is scatterbrained?
Scatterbrained appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 114,361st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce scatterbrained?
- /ˈskætə(ɹ)ˌbɹeɪnd/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-scatterbrained.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of scatterbrained
- more scatterbrained comparative
- most scatterbrained superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does scatterbrained mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having the qualities of a scatterbrain: absent-minded, forgetful, easily distracted.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Scatterbrained in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense having the qualities of scatterbrain:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | écervelé |
| German | nachlässig, vergesslich |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does scatterbrained come from?
From scatter + brained.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).