as in slivers
a small sharp piece of something (such as glass or pottery)
Watch out for the shards of glass on the floor.
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Recent Examples of shards
When the shards of symbolic celebration shatter, they are often left to navigate the jagged realities of structural and institutional neglect.
—
Jallicia Jolly, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
Set aside to cool and then break into irregular shards and reserve for topping the soup.
—Hailee Catalano, Bon Appetit Magazine, 23 Jan. 2026
The explosion had shattered the windows of their apartment, one floor above Griselda’s, and covered them in shards of glass.
—Oriana Van Praag, New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2026
If the glass does break, the shards will be more contained in the cardboard.
—Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Metal shards were also found in his stomach from swallowing so much blood, according to the statement.
—Sean Emery, Oc Register, 13 Jan. 2026
The 21 year old underwent six hours of surgery where doctors found shards of plastic, glass and metal embedded in his eyes and around his face, including a metal piece lodged 7 mm from a carotid artery.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026
The windshield and windows of the truck appeared to be shattered, and shards of glass were seen on the street below the vehicle.
—Laurie Perez, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2026
The Roshn Stadium in Riyadh will have a roof resembling shards of crystal, while the Neom Stadium is due to be incorporated into The Line mega city.
—Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
Jallicia Jolly, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
Set aside to cool and then break into irregular shards and reserve for topping the soup.
—Hailee Catalano, Bon Appetit Magazine, 23 Jan. 2026
The explosion had shattered the windows of their apartment, one floor above Griselda’s, and covered them in shards of glass.
—Oriana Van Praag, New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2026
If the glass does break, the shards will be more contained in the cardboard.
—Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Metal shards were also found in his stomach from swallowing so much blood, according to the statement.
—Sean Emery, Oc Register, 13 Jan. 2026
The 21 year old underwent six hours of surgery where doctors found shards of plastic, glass and metal embedded in his eyes and around his face, including a metal piece lodged 7 mm from a carotid artery.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026
The windshield and windows of the truck appeared to be shattered, and shards of glass were seen on the street below the vehicle.
—Laurie Perez, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2026
The Roshn Stadium in Riyadh will have a roof resembling shards of crystal, while the Neom Stadium is due to be incorporated into The Line mega city.
—Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shards
Noun
-
Clinical numbers aside, the Turbo S feels breathtakingly quick from the driver’s seat, with a tremendous wallop of thrust surging it to breakneck speeds in what feels like slivers of time.—
Basem Wasef,
Robb Report,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Wood laminate pews from the 1960s were peeling, so that slivers of wood caught on clothing.—
Sophie Carson,
jsonline.com,
23 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Krasnodar officials said drone fragments fell on two industrial plants in the city of Slavyansk, sparking fires that were extinguished.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
-
His output can be seen as a kind of wilderness preserve, in which stray fragments of musical history are allowed to roam free, without having to worry about adapting themselves to any modish system or sensibility.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
With radiation detectors lining the insides of those tanks, the properties of the incoming particles can be reconstructed.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
30 Jan. 2026
-
If two particles come from related sources, their relative momenta carry a fingerprint of that relationship.—
Tejasri Gururaj,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Also known as sunspots, solar lentigines, or liver spots, age spots are additional specks and bits of pigment caused by excessive sun exposure.—
Essence,
Essence,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Volcanic specks mushroom up from topaz seas, like a real estate brochure for The Man With The Golden Gun.—
Tristan Rutherford,
Robb Report,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The remaining scenes draw on familiar teenage horror tropes, with flecks of fresh insight.—
Natalia Winkelman,
IndieWire,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Even just sitting in a humid cabinet can lead to flecks of rust on a cast-iron pan.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In non-theme park play, the game revolves around Illumineers, glimmers, inklands, a lorebook and other buzzwords and actions that are important to players.—
Dewayne Bevil,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 Jan. 2026
-
There’s still a long way to go to restore his status as a promising prospect, but there have been glimmers of hope the last couple weeks.—
Vincent Z. Mercogliano,
New York Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Not for escapism, per se – Roseberry’s Schiaparelli show, one of his finest and weirdest to date, vibrated with implications about our world’s rigid definition of beauty, with horns, feathers and splashes of neon – but for indulgence.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Add the carrot sauce and a couple splashes of pasta water, and toss to combine.—
Hailee Catalano,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Rather than turn them into a harsh awakening, however, writer-director Walter Thompson-Hernández makes a refreshing point of holding fast to big dreams and bits of poetry anyway — not to deny the realities of life, but to embrace it in all its bittersweet richness.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Jan. 2026
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The older one does Warners cartoon bits, really old-fashioned, cheap-ass funny vaudeville stuff.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shards.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shards. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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