Pronunciations (2)
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/ˈsmæ.təɹ.ɪŋ/
Pronunciation notes
- UK
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/ˈsmætɚɪŋ/
Pronunciation notes
- US
Noun
A shallow or superficial knowledge of a subject.
- Synonyms
- Examples
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She knows a smattering of Greek, but not enough to carry on a conversation.
1529, Thomas More, The Supplycacyon of Soulys [The Supplication of Souls], London: W. Rastell, Book 2, […] he had a lytell smatterynge in the lawe: […]
More examples (5)
If any object against a Learned Education, that it will make Women vain and assuming, and instead of correcting, encrease their Pride: I grant, that a smattering in Learning may; for it has this effect on the Men, none so Dogmatical, and so forward to shew their Parts as your little Pretenders to Science.
There were several of his Priests and Lawyers present, (as I conjectured by their habits) who were commanded to address themselves to me, and I spoke to them in as many Languages as I had the least smattering of, which were High and Low Dutch, Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, and Lingua Franca; but all to no purpose.
It's easy enough to be a beak when you're young and athletic, and can offer the latest University smattering. The difficulty is to keep your place when you get old and stiff, and younger smatterers are pushing up behind you.
Tarzan, who, by this time, with the assistance of Abdul, had picked up quite a smattering of Arab, questioned one of the younger men who had accompanied the sheik while the latter paid his respects to Captain Gerard.
He had only a mail-order smattering of music, painting; he had never read Dante or Goethe nor anything of Shakespeare except the plays on which he had been spoon-fed at Amherst […]
A small amount or number of something.
- Synonyms
- Examples
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There’s only a smattering of people who oppose the first amendment.
More examples (2)
More sophisticated dishes, like trout, with a heavy smattering of finely minced rosemary between the filets, are simple and au naturel: the trout comes with a lemon wedge, a bed of mixed greens, and the head.
By the standards of the 70s, when the main climbing routes were littered with discarded tents and food packets, Everest is a lot cleaner, with just a smattering of plastic bottles and sweet wrappers on the rocky plateau that is base camp.
He was introduced to a smattering of boos from the crowd, a sign of the presence of fans from Notre Dame and other Big Ten schools.
Noun
a small number or amount
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
- Examples
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only a handful of responses were received
a slight or superficial understanding of a subject
- Broader terms