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
From the construction debris and pottery shards, in Hadrian’s day, the structure appeared to archaeologists to have been abandoned.
—
Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 13 June 2026
Once ground was completely covered with shards of tableware, folks journeyed from their seats into the center of the room for more dancing and merrymaking.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 11 June 2026
It's made up of exoskeletons of tiny marine animals and contains sharp shards that penetrate ants' bodies and dispatch them.
—Barbara Gillette, The Spruce, 10 June 2026
The sky has shattered, shards fill the alleys.
—Literary Hub, 9 June 2026
The being’s power is broken into 16 shards, which are then spread out throughout many worlds by the conspirators, spreading many kinds of magic across the universe.
—Shyla Watson, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026
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
Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 13 June 2026
Once ground was completely covered with shards of tableware, folks journeyed from their seats into the center of the room for more dancing and merrymaking.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 11 June 2026
It's made up of exoskeletons of tiny marine animals and contains sharp shards that penetrate ants' bodies and dispatch them.
—Barbara Gillette, The Spruce, 10 June 2026
The sky has shattered, shards fill the alleys.
—Literary Hub, 9 June 2026
The being’s power is broken into 16 shards, which are then spread out throughout many worlds by the conspirators, spreading many kinds of magic across the universe.
—Shyla Watson, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shards
Noun
-
Arranged over the top are dollops of crema and slivers of pickled yellow squash.—
Jenn Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
-
And moments, by definition, are tiny slivers in time.—
Tim Reynolds,
Chicago Tribune,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
The lithosphere, however, is not in one piece and exists like a puzzle or series of fragments, according to the USGS.—
Brandi D. Addison,
USA Today,
15 June 2026
-
The uppermost part of this orbit crosses the orbit of the International Space Station, but aerodynamic drag will quickly pull all the debris fragments below the ISS.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
15 June 2026
Noun
-
Seasonal allergies are primarily caused by trees and grasses, whose tiny pollen particles travel on the wind.—
Alexandra Jones,
The Spruce,
10 June 2026
-
The experiment produced nanophase iron, tiny metallic particles that are widely observed in lunar soil and are considered a key signature of space weathering.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
This looks like tiny black or reddish-brown specks that resemble coffee grounds.—
Emily Hayes,
Martha Stewart,
9 June 2026
-
But such interludes add up to small specks of stormclouds in the show’s otherwise sunny skies.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
From the train windows, expect to spot the aquamarine waves of Ligurian Sea crashing against the stony coast, candy-colored houses huddled together on the hillsides, tiny wooden boats gliding through village harbors, and flecks of golden-sand beaches.—
Jessica Puckett,
Condé Nast Traveler,
5 June 2026
-
The light had a wintry grain, with flecks of color suspended in it.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
The chance of advancing from the group phase isn’t far-fetched, with a diverse squad of new and seasoned players and recent results that offer glimmers of hope for a run in the tournament.—
Jim Sciutto,
CNN Money,
8 June 2026
-
At the outset this year, however, glimmers of hope appeared to emerge.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
The lines are clean and sharp, the palette muted, approaching grayscale (which makes later splashes of color, like in the gaudy decor of a talk show or the blood-rust-red of a post-apocalyptic sky, pop even more), and motion within the frame is kept to a minimum.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
12 June 2026
-
Hockney’s paintings of pool water and splashes demonstrated his obsession with capturing elemental natural phenomena, even in suburban settings.—
Mark Rozzo,
Vanity Fair,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
After hearing these songs, the happier ones at the beginning of the album reveal bits of shadow that Rodrigo has built into them to presage what’s to come — to presage what always comes.—
Mikael Wood,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2026
-
Work was completed on the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool last weekend, with attention turning to other bits of the president’s construction projects, such as his triumphal arch.—
Rob Crilly,
The Washington Examiner,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shards.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shards. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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