splinters 1 of 2

noun

plural of splinter
as in slivers
a small flat piece separated from a whole she got a splinter from the unfinished wall

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

splinters

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of splinter
as in slices
to cut into long slender pieces splintered the carrots into little sticks

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of splinters
Noun
Legend has it this imperative caused the park’s architect, William Russell Everitt, to smash the original model to splinters with a baseball bat. — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 13 July 2026 Congress can swing the axe but taxpayers pick up the splinters. — Andrew Leahey, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026 But as the season neared the winter transfer window, the expectation was for Mainoo to leave on loan rather than continue to pick up splinters on the bench. — Carl Anka, New York Times, 26 May 2026 While Johnny Carson was a monolith, shaped by a dominant TV media structure to be all things to all people, the current crop of late-night hosts are merely splinters. — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 20 May 2026 Bricks, scorched wood frame splinters and other debris are scattered there. — Joseph Flaherty, Arkansas Online, 23 Apr. 2026 In 1903, a vicious winter storm reduced most of the piers to splinters, and by 1906 offshore oil production at Summerland had all but ceased. — Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026 Upon impact, cannonballs would have sent wooden splinters flying like debris from grenades. — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 5 Apr. 2026 Weeks before King Charles' coronation, The Times reported that Pope Francis, then the leader of the Catholic Church, gave King Charles two splinters of wood believed to be from the True Cross as a personal gift in honor of the coronation. — Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 2 Apr. 2026
Verb
When another attack splinters the small town of Pikeville, Charlotte — now a lawyer like her father — is the first witness on the scene. — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026 Endlessly switching between apps and online platforms splinters our attention and can lead to digital exhaustion, leaving us anxious, apathetic and unfocused. — Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026 Rumors are swirling in Kansas political circles that Republican leaders are considering initiating a special session like the one that just concluded in Missouri and produced a new map that splinters Kansas City into three congressional districts. — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2025 Instead of picking a single character to follow for the duration of the film, Cregger splinters the mystery among six people, separated into distinct chapters, beginning with Justine. — Peter Debruge, Variety, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for splinters
  1. slivers
  2. slices
  3. shards
  4. chops
  5. chips
  6. splits
  7. fragments
Noun
  • But embedded in nights such as Tuesday are slivers and morsels of hope and optimism.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 9 Sep. 2026
  • According to reports, Brinkley would inject slivers of Billy goat gonads into human scrotums as a cure for impotence.
    — Richard Wagoner, Daily News, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of slivers
Verb
  • Wild Lab Bakery sells decadent peanut butter cup cookies, as well, and Missy’s Pies slices up a droolworthy combo that features a layer of peanut butter on top of a chocolate brownie.
    — Joey Skladany, Southern Living, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The Yellowstone River slices through its middle, a miles-long stretch of meadow called the Yellowstone Valley.
    — Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of slices
Noun
  • In fact, they aren’t made of glass at all; they’re made of polycarbonate, a plastic material that mimics the look of a wonky funhouse reflector, to prevent people from shattering the surface and using broken shards as weapons.
    — Elizabeth Gulino, Allure, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Students sitting with arms linked at the elbows could only see in shards through a picket of shin guards, restricting their view of the area where classmates and roommates were dragged one by one and zip-tied face down on the spring grass.
    — Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of shards
Verb
  • If Tesla chops between roughly 330 and 425 into that Friday, the short options expire and the remaining December call is carried at a lower basis.
    — Michael Khouw, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The proposal chops $150 million from the Developmental Disabilities Administration, which battled against the largest budget cut in last year's negotiations.
    — JT Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026
Definition of chops
Noun
  • Inside the restaurant, guests chatted among Dean’s signature Guinness-and-oyster shooters and silver bowls piled high with chips, but the warm fall night meant taking advantage of the sidewalk space also appealed.
    — Leigh Nordstrom, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Forbes estimates that Musk lost $21 billion Wednesday morning when SpaceX shares fell following a report that the company plans to raise $40 billion to buy Nvidia chips.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of chips
Verb
  • After a competition win, Fujino remarks that her dream was to see her manga animated, a comment that temporarily splits the two central characters.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Wavecamper Wavecamper completes the driver's side construction with a removable table that splits the slide-adjustable rear seats and swivel front seats and a roof-high rear wardrobe for storage.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of splits
Noun
  • The star is 2,160,000 ppb of low-molecular-weight collagen—in other words, smaller collagen fragments that help draw moisture to skin for a plumper, firmer look.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 7 Oct. 2026
  • This test, as well as others like it, can detect tiny fragments of free-floating DNA in the blood.
    — H. Gilbert Welch, STAT, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of fragments

Browse Nearby Words

splintering
splinters
splints
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Cite this Entry

“Splinters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/splinters. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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