SHARDS Synonyms: 96 Similar and Opposite Words

shards

noun

plural of shard

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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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of shards The laminate reinforces the glass to create a shatter-resistant barrier, preventing shards of glass from flying out during extreme weather. — Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026 With grit and one-liners, this American hero navigates air vents and glass shards to save the day. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 1 July 2026 The genetic blood disease can feel like shards of glass racing through veins, attacking every organ, Ogunsile said. — Larry Seward, CBS News, 29 June 2026 Hall had shards of glass in his chest when he was found, per Utilma Hora. — Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 16 June 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shards

Noun

This white and pink ombré set is elevated with gold slivers to outline each nail.

— Daisy Maldonado, InStyle, 15 June 2026
Arranged over the top are dollops of crema and slivers of pickled yellow squash.

— Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026

Definition of slivers

Noun

Following the Japanese art form Kintsugi, the packaging is made up of gold- and silver-filled pottery fragments to resemble a broken heart pieced back together.

— Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 9 July 2026
Unlike previous studies, which examined bits of hair and bone fragments in wolf scat to determine what the animals ate, the UC Davis researchers used DNA analysis to determine the makeup of the samples.

— Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 8 July 2026

Definition of fragments

Noun

Axiom Materials will test how advanced materials perform against rain, hail, and airborne particles.

— Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 2 July 2026
Those particles may have been grinding in the joint, causing mechanical wear on the cobalt-chromium femoral head that released cobalt into the surrounding tissue and bloodstream.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 2 July 2026

Definition of particles

Noun

One released a chaff cascade—hell’s own monsoon manifesting as specks of light, sound, and EM pulses falling through the hanging garden.

— Jeff Spry, Space.com, 26 June 2026
Kansas City isn't much of a pedestrian city, but now, blue and green specks of fans dot the sidewalks, like wildflowers poking through a crack in the pavement.

— Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 June 2026

Definition of specks

Noun

And, notes Fredriksen, in the big picture disasters of the Anthropocene, even glimmers are important.

— Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 6 July 2026
Despite a few glimmers of good feeling, today's fierce political divisions have redefined a milestone that has often been marked by unity and optimism, at least for a moment.

— Susan Page, USA Today, 22 June 2026

Definition of glimmers

Noun

As the United States of America celebrated its 250th birthday on terra firma with fireworks displays this weekend, two Asian countries made some splashes of their own farther from Earth.

— Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 6 July 2026
This recipe has a citrus base that feels seasonally appropriate with splashes of Tabasco which add extra heat.

— Nellah Bailey McGough, Southern Living, 4 July 2026

Definition of splashes

Noun

Unlike previous studies, which examined bits of hair and bone fragments in wolf scat to determine what the animals ate, the UC Davis researchers used DNA analysis to determine the makeup of the samples.

— Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 8 July 2026
But as memory makers try to build higher stacks to pack in more bits and bandwidth, experts worry this high bandwidth-memory (HBM) will trap enough heat to cook itself into oblivion.

— IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 8 July 2026

Definition of bits

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“Shards.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shards. Accessed 11 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of shards

noun

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