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
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 ice chunks, which are also conductors, can stretch into shards.
—Quanta Magazine, 6 May 2026
Suddenly, the plane’s landing gear tires struck the truck, shaking it and sending shards of glass flying.
—Sarah Dewberry, CNN Money, 4 May 2026
Keep any broken terra-cotta pots to use as drainage shards in the bottom.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 4 May 2026
The 39-year-old artist was finally gaining recognition abroad for his contorted, geometric sculptures made of thousands of hand-cut mirror shards reaching as high as 27 feet.
—Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 28 Apr. 2026
Yes, people still get ripped out of a hole in the fuselage like always, but not until after they’ve been obliterated by flying snack carts and diced apart by shards of broken glass.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 28 Apr. 2026
The plainclothes detectives, who were wearing NYPD vests, then dragged Brown on the floor, over shards of broken glass, to the front of the store, ordering him to stop resisting.
—Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 20 Apr. 2026
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 ice chunks, which are also conductors, can stretch into shards.
—Quanta Magazine, 6 May 2026
Suddenly, the plane’s landing gear tires struck the truck, shaking it and sending shards of glass flying.
—Sarah Dewberry, CNN Money, 4 May 2026
Keep any broken terra-cotta pots to use as drainage shards in the bottom.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 4 May 2026
The 39-year-old artist was finally gaining recognition abroad for his contorted, geometric sculptures made of thousands of hand-cut mirror shards reaching as high as 27 feet.
—Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 28 Apr. 2026
Yes, people still get ripped out of a hole in the fuselage like always, but not until after they’ve been obliterated by flying snack carts and diced apart by shards of broken glass.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 28 Apr. 2026
The plainclothes detectives, who were wearing NYPD vests, then dragged Brown on the floor, over shards of broken glass, to the front of the store, ordering him to stop resisting.
—Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 20 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shards
Noun
-
The peas themselves are piled like cabochons over a thin pastry shell, dressed in a tart citrus vinaigrette and studded with slivers of pickled shallots that deliver bracing little sparks of brine against the crisp sweetness of the legumes.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
10 May 2026
-
That’s in large part because many of the Democrats have only slivers of daylight between their policies, and ditto for the two Republicans.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Here, the archeologists found tesserae from mosaics, glass fragments, and kitchen pottery.—
Anne Doran,
ARTnews.com,
11 May 2026
-
He is accompanied by the Cubans Piñera and Rodríguez Tomeu, who read fragments of poems in a flowery, exaggerated way.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 May 2026
Noun
-
As dust floats through the air, static electricity can attract particles of dirt, pollen, pet dander, and dust that accumulate on the fan blades over time.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
14 May 2026
-
Similar to how cosmic impacts can agitate and heat lunar regolith to liberate trapped particles from the solar wind, machines can do much the same.—
Robin George Andrews,
Scientific American,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
From the summit of Monte Gambarogno, the towns hugging the shore of Lake Maggiore appear as tiny specks, dwarfed by the snowcapped southern Alps to the north.—
Lisa Kadane,
Travel + Leisure,
1 May 2026
-
Silvery or mottled patches on leaves, brown or distorted petal edges, dark specks (feces) or flower buds that fail to open are signs of thrips.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Our recipe studs egg filling with flecks of green onions, bacon, and a generous helping of Swiss cheese.—
Lisa Cericola,
Southern Living,
5 May 2026
-
Some bathrooms have been updated with a walk-in shower, while others (including my room) have a shower-tub combo in starlight marble, which has flecks of shiny stone that seem to sparkle, but are slightly uncomfortable to climb into and out of.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
While math achievement saw a rebound after the pandemic, reading continued to decline through 2024, with 2025 offering glimmers of a turnaround, the report said.—
Paris Barraza,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
-
The Melissa is a slightly wider shape for more coverage and balance on longer or wider faces, with a chunky gold hinge that glimmers in the sun.—
Kelsey Legg,
ABC News,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
Add a few more splashes of the reserved hot water.—
Karla Walsh,
CNN Money,
12 May 2026
-
Perennials are a great way to spruce up your garden and add splashes of greenery to your landscape.—
Adrienne Jordan,
Martha Stewart,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
At the core of quantum computing are quantum bits, or qubits, that can store multiple values simultaneously, unlike binary bits that can only be a 0 or a 1.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
15 May 2026
-
The best bits of Body of Work are defined by the ideas that don’t center Skeletrix in the frame, the half-thoughts and thorny passages that breeze past if you aren’t locked in.—
Olivier Lafontant,
Pitchfork,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shards.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shards. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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