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
Out of the shards, a message Douglass continued studying how the Malagasy have interacted with and adapted to their changing environment and climate over time.
—
Ari Daniel, NPR, 8 Oct. 2025
The assault left four members dead and numerous others physically injured, some from gunshots, others by smoke inhalation and still others gashed and bleeding from shrapnel and shards of glass.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
Researchers like me carefully separate out the tiny glass shards by sifting through the dirt and using a micromanipulator, a tool that can pick up and move microscopic grains.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 25 Sep. 2025
Instead of being deep fried, pig skins are crisped up on the pit and chopped into shards that deliver an incredible punch of smoke beneath each jaw-rattling crunch.
—Robert F. Moss, Southern Living, 17 Sep. 2025
The designs for the towers’ mosaic tiles, which Gaudí constructed by hand from ceramic shards, are workshopped and finalized using 3-D-design software called Rhinoceros.
—D. T. Max, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
Kafka’s life and work are fragmented, so the film had to be fragmented too—piecing together shards of his fiction, his letters, and his lived experience.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2025
The archaeologists also came across obsidian fragments and pottery shards.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2025
In this add on, a meteor lands on a volcanic island and so Kirby is left collecting shards of a shattered crystal and preventing an eerie presence from inside the rock from escaping.
—Joshua Lamb, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Ari Daniel, NPR, 8 Oct. 2025
The assault left four members dead and numerous others physically injured, some from gunshots, others by smoke inhalation and still others gashed and bleeding from shrapnel and shards of glass.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
Researchers like me carefully separate out the tiny glass shards by sifting through the dirt and using a micromanipulator, a tool that can pick up and move microscopic grains.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 25 Sep. 2025
Instead of being deep fried, pig skins are crisped up on the pit and chopped into shards that deliver an incredible punch of smoke beneath each jaw-rattling crunch.
—Robert F. Moss, Southern Living, 17 Sep. 2025
The designs for the towers’ mosaic tiles, which Gaudí constructed by hand from ceramic shards, are workshopped and finalized using 3-D-design software called Rhinoceros.
—D. T. Max, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
Kafka’s life and work are fragmented, so the film had to be fragmented too—piecing together shards of his fiction, his letters, and his lived experience.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2025
The archaeologists also came across obsidian fragments and pottery shards.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2025
In this add on, a meteor lands on a volcanic island and so Kirby is left collecting shards of a shattered crystal and preventing an eerie presence from inside the rock from escaping.
—Joshua Lamb, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shards
Noun
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This classic recipe is complemented by slivers of bacon and ranch, two Southern favorites.—
Mary Alice Russell,
Southern Living,
29 Sep. 2025
-
People have seen slivers in movies like Paid in Full and read conjecture online, but beneath the surface is an entire world that hasn’t been seen before.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Of the 2,483 artifacts recovered, a whopping 2,117 were bone fragments.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
10 Oct. 2025
-
The enzymes target specific chemical structures along the polymer, bind at those points, and cleave the chains into microbial-friendly fragments.—
Tejasri Gururaj,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Always clean the frames before cleaning the glass so dust and dirt don't get stuck on the panes and all particles are removed.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
11 Oct. 2025
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Produced by the slow decay of radioactive particles, which is a natural process that occurs in all rocks, geothermal energy was long considered too expensive and geographically constrained to compete with other renewables.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The pattern is a brownish batik produced by specks of tobacco.—
Zuzana Říhová,
Literary Hub,
26 Sep. 2025
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After a few days’ travel, some of the specks landed on a buoy floating in the North Atlantic off the coast of French Guyana.—
Zack Savitsky,
Quanta Magazine,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The light brown hair, worn in an all-purpose crop, bears flecks of gray.—
Nathan Heller,
Vogue,
14 Oct. 2025
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Yes, these flecks are seeds that were once inside of a vanilla bean, confirms Britton.—
Karla Walsh,
Better Homes & Gardens,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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During a season when even the most successful night of the year is marred by a devastating injury to the team’s best player, there are still glimmers of hope for the Dolphins.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
30 Sep. 2025
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Baker wisely doesn’t attempt to write entirely in Austen’s wry style, but glimmers do peek through.—
Barbara Ellis,
Denver Post,
21 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Those bright white tees seem to be absolute stain magnets attracting coffee drips, spaghetti sauce spots, and salad dressing splashes.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
13 Oct. 2025
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Inventive prop makers undoubtedly experimented with other stand-ins for blood over the centuries, like splashes of red paint.—
Mark Hay,
Popular Science,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Within the private room, hotels are required to offer evening turndown service, full blackout shades, a safe, a bathrobe, slippers, and other amenities.—
Michael Cappetta,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Oct. 2025
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This fall Rag & Bone launches Infuse, a men’s denim collection that layers craftsmanship and innovation to create bold, dimensional shades.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shards.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shards. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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