as in handful
a small number
a smattering of guests at the art exhibit
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Recent Examples of smattering
Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2025
The Weather Service issued a smattering of winter watches, advisories and warnings for regions, stretching from eastern Colorado to New Jersey.
—Amy Graff, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2025
The first week of February concludes with a smattering of new music, featuring releases from LISA, Doja Cat and Raye, Anitta and more.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 7 Feb. 2025
Both have gray-brown bodies with a smattering of lighter cream and darker brown blotches.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smattering
Noun
With students only starting to trickle back onto campus after a recent evacuation in the wake of the Southern California wildfires, only a smattering of students showed up and the pregame roll call was abandoned.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2025
The Weather Service issued a smattering of winter watches, advisories and warnings for regions, stretching from eastern Colorado to New Jersey.
—Amy Graff, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2025
The first week of February concludes with a smattering of new music, featuring releases from LISA, Doja Cat and Raye, Anitta and more.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 7 Feb. 2025
Both have gray-brown bodies with a smattering of lighter cream and darker brown blotches.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smattering
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smattering
Noun
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The office has opened only a handful of new cases since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, and nearly all of them reflect his priorities.—
Jennifer Smith Richards,
ProPublica,
21 Feb. 2025
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The order was just the first of a handful of Trump’s assaults on the transgender community and gender affirming care.—
Chris Gardner,
The Hollywood Reporter,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Kate and Anthony were the central couple in season 2 of the Netflix period series, as each installment features a different member of the high-society Bridgerton family as a main character, along with their love interest.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
People.com,
16 Feb. 2025
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In the first half of the season, five couples get engaged after many very serious conversations, including LGBTQ+ rights and Black Lives Matter opinions (or lack of, in Ben’s case).—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
16 Feb. 2025
Verb
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But if the reform process lags and if Bangladesh's sputtering economy doesn't improve, the public's patience could start to wear thin for an administration that for now enjoys ample support.—
Michael Kugelman,
NPR,
21 Dec. 2024
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Those reports have unnerved British officials, who fear the tariffs could throttle the country’s already sputtering economic growth.—
Mark Landler,
New York Times,
20 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Smattering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smattering. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.
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