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
Thursday night’s detonation of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket during a static-fire test produced a spectacular fireball over Florida, sending shards of the rocket flying far and wide, into the sea and across the coastal scrubland nearby.
—
Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 29 May 2026
Up close, the design featured far more detail, boasting peek-a-boo lace cups and hundreds of shards of stone and crystals.
—Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 23 May 2026
The dress is adorned with mother of pearl diamond shards, pearls and crystal xillions.
—Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 22 May 2026
That film generated some moody power before collapsing into a pile of surrealist-horror shards.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 20 May 2026
Hundreds of pages of incident reports paint a disturbing picture — a 12-year-old convulsing after apparently swallowing an unknown object, a 15-year-old cutting a large gash in her arm with pieces of a broken toilet, residents stabbing staffers with wooden shards from a broken bed frame.
—Samantha Rappaport, CBS News, 18 May 2026
Hall was found dead at a villa with head injuries, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reported, and had shards of glass from a glass door in his chest, per local outlet Ultima Hora.
—Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 11 May 2026
For context, Juszczyk is a 6-foot-1, 235-pound behemoth whose knees probably feel like broken shards of glass at this point in his life.
—Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 9 May 2026
These shards travel billions of light-years across the universe and slam into Earth’s atmosphere.
—Quanta Magazine, 6 May 2026
Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 29 May 2026
Up close, the design featured far more detail, boasting peek-a-boo lace cups and hundreds of shards of stone and crystals.
—Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 23 May 2026
The dress is adorned with mother of pearl diamond shards, pearls and crystal xillions.
—Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 22 May 2026
That film generated some moody power before collapsing into a pile of surrealist-horror shards.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 20 May 2026
Hundreds of pages of incident reports paint a disturbing picture — a 12-year-old convulsing after apparently swallowing an unknown object, a 15-year-old cutting a large gash in her arm with pieces of a broken toilet, residents stabbing staffers with wooden shards from a broken bed frame.
—Samantha Rappaport, CBS News, 18 May 2026
Hall was found dead at a villa with head injuries, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reported, and had shards of glass from a glass door in his chest, per local outlet Ultima Hora.
—Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 11 May 2026
For context, Juszczyk is a 6-foot-1, 235-pound behemoth whose knees probably feel like broken shards of glass at this point in his life.
—Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 9 May 2026
These shards travel billions of light-years across the universe and slam into Earth’s atmosphere.
—Quanta Magazine, 6 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shards
Noun
-
Green cat-eye slivers frame short, nude nails at the cuticle and at the free edge.—
Ariel Wodarcyk,
InStyle,
29 May 2026
-
This retro snack, wrapped in puff pastry with slivers of jalapeño peppers, will disappear fast at any party.—
Ginger Crichton,
Midwest Living,
21 May 2026
Noun
-
The team is still conducting experiments to conclusively identify the green material, but the fragments strongly resemble malachite.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
1 June 2026
-
Archaeologists have previously identified mudbrick and limestone burial structures, fragments of coffins, inscribed limestone blocks, and a Roman-period coin.—
Daniel Cassady,
ARTnews.com,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
His viral load dropped from around 380,000 particles per milliliter of blood before the procedure to roughly 6,000 the next day.—
Elie Dolgin,
IEEE Spectrum,
4 June 2026
-
The burning of coal is one of the largest drivers of air pollution, releasing fine particles known to be harmful to respiratory and cardiovascular health.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
Most astronomers now agree that each of these minuscule crimson specks—which bear a striking resemblance to enormous, faraway stars—actually has a burgeoning black hole at its center.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
27 May 2026
-
As in Kourliandski’s quartet, specks and splatters of sound are interspersed with silences.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
The light had a wintry grain, with flecks of color suspended in it.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
-
Vermiculite, a fine, puffed, gold flecks mica, which helps with drainage.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
Collapsing floor There have been glimmers of a reset among some startups this year.—
Hugh Son,
CNBC,
1 June 2026
-
Longtime Caribbean correspondent Marc Lacey returns to a country that’s seen decades of volatile governance and catastrophic natural disaster, and finds glimmers of the Haiti of his youth.—
Judnick Mayard,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
The locks are designed for outdoor installations too, with an IP65 weather resistance rating for protection against rain, splashes and dust.—
Paul Lamkin,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
-
Try your coffee warm or iced, with some cinnamon and a few splashes of unsweetened almond milk.—
Karen Berger,
Verywell Health,
27 May 2026
Noun
-
Now, though, scientists have discovered bits of tissue removed from a species of sea cucumber called Psolus fabricii can keep on living indefinitely if they’re left in ordinary seawater.—
Jacek Krywko,
ArsTechnica,
29 May 2026
-
Just non-stop dribbles, counter-attacks, through balls, amazing finishes… all of football’s good bits.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shards.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shards. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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