as in slivers
a small flat piece separated from a whole
she got a splinter from the unfinished wall
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Recent Examples of splinters
Carl Anka, New York Times, 26 May 2026
The value of philosophy splinters when AI acts in unison with humans.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
While Johnny Carson was a monolith, shaped by a dominant TV media structure to be all things to all people, the current crop of late-night hosts are merely splinters.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 20 May 2026
Bricks, scorched wood frame splinters and other debris are scattered there.
—Joseph Flaherty, Arkansas Online, 23 Apr. 2026
In 1903, a vicious winter storm reduced most of the piers to splinters, and by 1906 offshore oil production at Summerland had all but ceased.
—Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
Upon impact, cannonballs would have sent wooden splinters flying like debris from grenades.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 5 Apr. 2026
Weeks before King Charles' coronation, The Times reported that Pope Francis, then the leader of the Catholic Church, gave King Charles two splinters of wood believed to be from the True Cross as a personal gift in honor of the coronation.
—Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 2 Apr. 2026
Injuries range from mouth splinters and choking to bowel blockages, eye damage, wounds, infections, or even sticks penetrating the body; vets have treated severe cases, some fatal.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
Denise Petski, Deadline, 11 May 2026
Endlessly switching between apps and online platforms splinters our attention and can lead to digital exhaustion, leaving us anxious, apathetic and unfocused.
—Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026
Megyn Kelly is continuing her hard-right tack, lashing back at Ben Shapiro and aligning herself with Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon as the MAGA movement dramatically splinters.
—Kimberly Nordyke, HollywoodReporter, 23 Dec. 2025
Rumors are swirling in Kansas political circles that Republican leaders are considering initiating a special session like the one that just concluded in Missouri and produced a new map that splinters Kansas City into three congressional districts.
—Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2025
Instead of picking a single character to follow for the duration of the film, Cregger splinters the mystery among six people, separated into distinct chapters, beginning with Justine.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 5 Aug. 2025
Noun
But as the season neared the winter transfer window, the expectation was for Mainoo to leave on loan rather than continue to pick up splinters on the bench.
—Carl Anka, New York Times, 26 May 2026
The value of philosophy splinters when AI acts in unison with humans.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
While Johnny Carson was a monolith, shaped by a dominant TV media structure to be all things to all people, the current crop of late-night hosts are merely splinters.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 20 May 2026
Bricks, scorched wood frame splinters and other debris are scattered there.
—Joseph Flaherty, Arkansas Online, 23 Apr. 2026
In 1903, a vicious winter storm reduced most of the piers to splinters, and by 1906 offshore oil production at Summerland had all but ceased.
—Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
Upon impact, cannonballs would have sent wooden splinters flying like debris from grenades.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 5 Apr. 2026
Weeks before King Charles' coronation, The Times reported that Pope Francis, then the leader of the Catholic Church, gave King Charles two splinters of wood believed to be from the True Cross as a personal gift in honor of the coronation.
—Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 2 Apr. 2026
Injuries range from mouth splinters and choking to bowel blockages, eye damage, wounds, infections, or even sticks penetrating the body; vets have treated severe cases, some fatal.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
Verb
When another attack splinters the small town of Pikeville, Charlotte is the first witness on the scene.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 11 May 2026
Endlessly switching between apps and online platforms splinters our attention and can lead to digital exhaustion, leaving us anxious, apathetic and unfocused.
—Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026
Megyn Kelly is continuing her hard-right tack, lashing back at Ben Shapiro and aligning herself with Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon as the MAGA movement dramatically splinters.
—Kimberly Nordyke, HollywoodReporter, 23 Dec. 2025
Rumors are swirling in Kansas political circles that Republican leaders are considering initiating a special session like the one that just concluded in Missouri and produced a new map that splinters Kansas City into three congressional districts.
—Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2025
Instead of picking a single character to follow for the duration of the film, Cregger splinters the mystery among six people, separated into distinct chapters, beginning with Justine.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for splinters
Noun
-
Arranged over the top are dollops of crema and slivers of pickled yellow squash.—
Jenn Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
-
Instead of being rolled, the enchiladas are stacked with slivers of tortilla, then topped with the familiar glob of cheese.—
Bud Kennedy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
The hotel is on the corner of Mission Street, which slices diagonally through the city, and the Embarcadero, which hugs the waterfront from the Bay Bridge west to Fisherman’s Wharf.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
The ones that are accepted are run through a machine that shakes the envelopes — this makes the ballot sink to the bottom of the envelope — and slices them open.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
The footage showed that without responding, an officer smashed Hoskins’ passenger-side window, pelting him with shards of glass.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Dec. 2025
-
Her eyes might get shards of glass in them.—
Victoria Barry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Consider two investors, one who invests $7,500 at the beginning of the year, and another who chops it up into $288 biweekly investments.—
Ryan Ermey,
CNBC,
24 Feb. 2026
-
The proposal chops $150 million from the Developmental Disabilities Administration, which battled against the largest budget cut in last year's negotiations.—
JT Moodee Lockman,
CBS News,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Nvidia, which operates a highly profitable business making the expensive chips AI runs on, fell as much as 4% in midday trading Tuesday.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
-
Analysts have noted that retail investors could be causing some of the weakness in chips by freeing up dry powder in preparation for the blockbuster IPO – though Bank of America noted that last week’s sell-off was driven by big institutional money.—
Tobias Burns,
CNBC,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
Cross those two dimensions — how far an idea travels across knowledge domains, how cheaply it is checked — and the future splits four ways.—
Christian Catalini,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
-
The show, created by Taylor Sheridan, splits filming between Montana and North Texas, where the region stands in for New York City.—
Brayden Garcia,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
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
-
The hipster-cool studio expressed interest in using those viral fragments as the basis of a long-form project, and the kid known as @KanePixels suddenly found himself with a lucrative deal.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
14 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Splinters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/splinters. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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