splintered; splintering
ˈsplin-tə-riŋ 
-triŋ
2
: to split into fragments, parts, or factions
: to become splintered
Synonyms
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
John Hopewell, Variety, 22 Sep. 2024
Island life is energetically rendered, and there’s an appreciation for details too — from the splinters on the giant tree an industrial beaver (Matt Berry) gnaws at daily to the fine hairs on cantankerous grizzly bear Thorn (Mark Hamill).
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2024
Blake Oestriecher, Forbes, 5 Oct. 2024
Helene blew ashore in Florida's Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday packing winds of 140 mph (225 kph) and then quickly moved through Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, uprooting trees, splintering homes and sending creeks and rivers over their banks and straining dams.
—Stephen Smith, TIME, 28 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for splinter 
Noun
Crime series splinters, indeed, into multiple sub-genres, the panelists observed.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 22 Sep. 2024
Island life is energetically rendered, and there’s an appreciation for details too — from the splinters on the giant tree an industrial beaver (Matt Berry) gnaws at daily to the fine hairs on cantankerous grizzly bear Thorn (Mark Hamill).
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2024
Verb
Reigns’ Bad Blood victory, coupled with The Rock’s return, can splinter off into so many different storyline directions, all of which continue to make The Bloodline the most captivating act on WWE programming.
—Blake Oestriecher, Forbes, 5 Oct. 2024
Helene blew ashore in Florida's Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday packing winds of 140 mph (225 kph) and then quickly moved through Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, uprooting trees, splintering homes and sending creeks and rivers over their banks and straining dams.
—Stephen Smith, TIME, 28 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for splinter
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'splinter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near splinter
Cite this Entry
“Splinter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/splinter. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
splinter
1 of 2 noun
splin·ter
ˈsplint-ər
: a thin piece split or torn off lengthwise : sliver
splinter
adjective
splinter
2 of 2 verb
splintered; splintering
ˈsplint-ə-riŋ
ˈsplin-triŋ
: to divide or break into splinters
Medical Definition
splinter
noun
splin·ter
ˈsplint-ər
: 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
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