scattershot

[ skat-er-shot ]

adjective

1. delivered over a wide area and at random; generalized and indiscriminate:

   a scattershot attack on the proposed program.

scattershot

/ ˈskætəˌʃɒt /

adjective

1. random; haphazard

   their approach to conservation is scattershot and unscientific

Word History and Origins

Origin of scattershot¹

First recorded in 1960–65; adj. use of scatter shot

Example Sentences

The monologue was more scattershot and less finely crafted than last year’s and the sketches were less uniformly great, but there was still some strong material.

From Los Angeles Times

Campaign strategists from both parties say Trump’s attacks on Harris suffer from another flaw: They’re scattershot and unfocused.

From Los Angeles Times

The defense, by contrast, took a scattershot approach focused on undermining the credibility of any and all of the prosecution’s witnesses, particularly Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney and fixer.

From Los Angeles Times

It can be frustrating trying to catch up, but there are haunting moments if you can relax into a scattershot plot that casually builds toward a Thanksgiving banquet of melodramatic confrontations and fateful turning points.

From Los Angeles Times

Panicked and exhausted, I had scattershot visions of the widow and my almond tree, the tanner, and the monks of my old village so far away.

From Literature