smattered
Had slight knowledge
Smattered is the past tense of smatter, meaning to have superficial or scattered knowledge of something: He smattered a few words of Italian.
More commonly, smattered describes things distributed sparsely across a surface or area: Freckles smattered her cheeks, applause smattered the audience.
The word suggests incompleteness—bits here and there rather than thorough coverage.
Seen or patterned
- fleckedSpotted with small marks
- dottedMarked with small points
- dappledMarked with spots
- mottledHaving irregular color patches
stippled · freckled · blotched · specked · pockmarked · marbled · variegated · bespeckled
Spread widely apart
- strewnSpread irregularly about
- spreadTo distribute widely
- distributedDivided and given out
- litteredScattered with debris
sprinkled · dotted · peppered · interspersed · disseminated · diffused · broadcast · sown
Hasty and incomplete
- shallowWithout much depth
- partialFavoring one side
- incompleteLacking necessary parts
- fragmentaryConsisting of incomplete parts
rudimentary · basic · passing · slight · scanty · meager · limited · sparse
spotted
Seen or patterned
mottled · stippled · freckled · blotched · specked · pockmarked · marbled · variegated · bespeckled · brindled
dispersed
Spread widely apart
- strewnSpread irregularly about
- spreadTo distribute widely
- distributedDivided and given out
littered · sprinkled · dotted · peppered · interspersed · disseminated · diffused · broadcast · sown · flung
cursory
Hasty and incomplete
- shallowWithout much depth
- partialFavoring one side
- incompleteLacking necessary parts
fragmentary · rudimentary · basic · passing · slight · scanty · meager · limited · sparse · thin