splinter
noun
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Definition of splinter
(Entry 1 of 2)
splinter
verb
-triŋ
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Definition of splinter (Entry 2 of 2)
2 : to split into fragments, parts, or factions
: to become splintered
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Other Words from splinter
Noun
-trē
\
adjective
Synonyms for splinter
Synonyms: Noun
chip, flake, sliver, spall, splint
Synonyms: Verb
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Examples of splinter in a Sentence
Noun
I got a splinter in my finger. There were splinters of glass everywhere.Verb
The board splintered under his weight. The impact of the crash splintered the glass. groups that have splintered off to form new political movements a political party that has been splintered by disagreements
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The idea was to put Democrats in a bind; force them to either splinter with an increasingly progressive base on immigration or risk the larger electorate on a still unpopular message. — Tara Golshan, Vox, "House Republicans are ditching their plan to force Democrats to vote to abolish ICE," 17 July 2018 The weariness showed on the faces of the spokespeople for the April 19th Student Movement — not to be confused with the splinter April 19th University (Student) Movement. — Washington Post, "Nicaraguan students enraged at repression turn on government," 15 May 2018 But a small splinter group of white evangelicals defecting from the GOP, combined with wider demographic changes in the number of white evangelicals overall, may herald the weakening of the white evangelical-GOP alliance over time. — Tara Isabella Burton, Vox, "The GOP can’t rely on white evangelicals forever," 7 Nov. 2018 The experts also pointed to Mohamed Ousmane Ag Mohamedoune, a Tuareg, who after signing the 2015 peace agreement took leadership of a splinter group. — Fox News, "France proposes sanctions against Mali peace deal spoilers," 30 Aug. 2018 The baking soda swells your skin and brings the splinter to the surface. — Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, "15 Things My Father Taught Me," 17 June 2016 The three-party governing coalition started to splinter; one of the parties called for a new election, as did Andrej Kiska, the country’s president. — The Economist, "Can Slovakia’s government survive?," 15 Mar. 2018 Police in Boone, North Carolina, say heavy rains caused a hillside to give way causing a massive mudslide which led to a gas explosion leaving one house in splinters. — Kris Van Cleave, CBS News, "Deadly storm wallops North Carolina, threatens mid-Atlantic region," 31 May 2018 On June 13, Jonas was hit by an explosive shell that burst into hot, sharp splinters at high velocity. — Special To The Oregonian, OregonLive.com, "Memorial Day 2018: Remembering two peace-loving Oregon boys who died in France," 28 May 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
The debate around whether to vote for this bill is an early test of the Democratic Party’s increasingly left-leaning policy platform — and so far, Democratic lawmakers are splintering on the issue. — Ella Nilsen, Vox, "Democrats: Abolish ICE! Republicans: Let’s vote on it. Democrats: Uhhhh...," 13 July 2018 But Carson began hosting in an era of three TV channels; now, the American media landscape is splintered to the extreme. — David Sims, The Atlantic, "Jimmy Fallon Can’t Ignore Donald Trump," 26 June 2018 With so many Democrats running, the party’s fear is that the vote will be splintered, allowing Republicans — who have fewer candidates — to dominate some primaries. — Jonathan Martin, BostonGlobe.com, "Democrats go all-out to avoid disaster in California House races," 26 May 2018 Begone, summer’s tattered unstructured sacks and splintered straw carryalls! — Madeline Fass, Vogue, "The Best Street Style–Approved Bags for Fall and Beyond," 27 Aug. 2018 Thanks to state’s top-two primary system, that could produce a scenario where the Democratic vote is splintered and two Republicans finish atop the field, advancing to the general election. — Emily Cadei, sacbee, "Democrats consider attacking their own California candidates to win back Congress | The Sacramento Bee," 19 Mar. 2018 After the event, the DLM splintered due to family disputes and, of course, money. — Craig Hlavaty, Houston Chronicle, "The story of the 15-year-old guru who came to the Astrodome to save the world," 12 Apr. 2018 On the eve of the election, some Republican strategists closely monitoring the race were anticipating that the vote would splinter , sending the contest to a runoff for the top two finishers. — Chronicle Wire Services, Houston Chronicle, "GOP’s Cloud wins special election for Farenthold’s Congressional seat," 30 June 2018 And numerous Democratic candidates would splinter votes and perhaps put two Republicans in the November elections. — Joseph Weber, Fox News, "Battle among California Democrats to win House races now includes unsubstantiated candidate phone message," 5 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'splinter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for splinter
splinter
noun
English Language Learners Definition of splinter
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a thin, sharp piece of something (such as wood, glass, etc.) that has broken off a larger piece
splinter
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of splinter (Entry 2 of 2)
: to break (something) into small pieces or splinters
: to divide or split a group of people into smaller groups
See the full definition for splinter in the English Language Learners Dictionary
splinter
noun
\
Kids Definition of splinter
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a thin piece split or torn off lengthwise : sliver
splinter
verbKids Definition of splinter (Entry 2 of 2)
: to break into slivers Peter and Judy covered their ears as sounds of splintering wood and breaking china filled the house.— Chris Van Allsburg, Jumanji
splinter
noun
\
Medical Definition of splinter
: a thin piece (as of wood) split or broken off lengthwise especially : such a piece embedded in the skin used tweezers to remove a splinter
Other Words from splinter
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