divide vs scatter

divide

verb
  • To disunite in opinion or interest; to make discordant or hostile; to set at variance. 

  • To vote, as in the British parliament and other legislatures, by the members separating themselves into two parties (as on opposite sides of the hall or in opposite lobbies), that is, the ayes dividing from the noes. 

  • To share (something) by dividing it. 

  • To separate into two or more parts. 

  • To mark divisions on; to graduate. 

  • To calculate the number (the quotient) by which you must multiply one given number (the divisor) to produce a second given number (the dividend). 

  • To play or sing in a florid style, or with variations. 

  • To be a divisor of. 

  • To split or separate (something) into two or more parts. 

  • Of a cell, to reproduce by dividing. 

noun
  • An act of dividing. 

  • A distancing between two people or things. 

  • A large chasm, gorge, or ravine between two areas of land. 

  • The topographical boundary dividing two adjacent catchment basins, such as a ridge or a crest. 

  • A thing that divides. 

scatter

verb
  • To frustrate, disappoint, and overthrow. 

  • To (cause to) separate and go in different directions; to disperse. 

  • Of a pitcher: to keep down the number of hits or walks. 

  • To deflect (radiation or particles). 

  • To occur or fall at widely spaced intervals. 

  • To distribute loosely as by sprinkling. 

  • To be dispersed upon. 

noun
  • The act of scattering or dispersing. 

  • A collection of dispersed objects. 

How often have the words divide and scatter occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )