as in chip
a small flat piece separated from a whole
she got a splinter from the unfinished wall
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
as in to split
to cause (people) to break up into opposing groups
The board splintered as soon as the most contentious issues came up for discussion.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of splinter
Zuzana Říhová, Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025
Outside of these moments, the audience scatters, the conversation splinters, and the mirage vanishes.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Sophia Panych, Allure, 8 Oct. 2025
Since then, the world has expanded and splintered and niche-ified itself in ways even Wolfe—who was certainly the leading man in his own movie, strolling down Madison Avenue in a white three-piece suit and homburg hat as the culture wars of the 60s raged on—might not have imagined.
—Julia Vitale, Air Mail, 4 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for splinter
Noun
Splinter after splinter flopping onto the stone threshold, tsss, tsss, hissing like a nest of vipers.
—Zuzana Říhová, Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025
Outside of these moments, the audience scatters, the conversation splinters, and the mirage vanishes.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
As goth became more commercialized in the 1990s (hello, Hot Topic), the subculture splintered into sub-subcultures (cyber goth, chola goth, pastel goth, to name a few) and expanded beyond the music scene into a safe space for young people who felt different.
—Sophia Panych, Allure, 8 Oct. 2025
Since then, the world has expanded and splintered and niche-ified itself in ways even Wolfe—who was certainly the leading man in his own movie, strolling down Madison Avenue in a white three-piece suit and homburg hat as the culture wars of the 60s raged on—might not have imagined.
—Julia Vitale, Air Mail, 4 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for splinter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for splinter
Noun
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In terms of competition, though, Huawei is the alpha dog in Chinese AI chips, shipping between 300,000 and 400,000 of its Ascend AI chips last year, compared to just north of 10,000 units from Cambricon.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
24 Oct. 2025
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The quarterback might touch the $1,000 poker chip or tap his chin or touch his black chips to indicate who at the table had the best hand.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And still, given that Spurs’ creative issues persist and Monaco peppered Vicario’s goal with 23 shots, seemingly slicing through a defence which had previously looked so secure with ease, Tottenham escaped with another away point.—
Elias Burke,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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Their home had backed up to a 300-acre farm that’s now been sliced into subdivisions.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Atlanta scored first on a 38-yard field goal from Parker Romo, but that came after Huff and Sam Okuayinonu split a third-down sack to minimize a 19-play, 10 ½-minute drive.—
Cam Inman,
Mercury News,
20 Oct. 2025
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Bigger than Alaska and Texas combined, West Antarctica is split from the eastern half of the continent by the Transantarctic Mountains, whose peaks are buried to their chins in ice.—
Evan Howell,
Quanta Magazine,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The elder Sitake knows about embracing faint slivers of light in dark times.—
Christopher Kamrani,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
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The men were also fortunate enough to find a sliver of cell reception.—
Owen Clarke,
Outside,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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To chop the spinach, try arranging it in sort of a clump on your cutting board.—
Ann Taylor Pittman,
Southern Living,
18 Oct. 2025
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Summit leaves much of Spears’ original vocal in tact, in moments chopping it up and adding spaces of near silence for dramatic effect, before dialing up the BPM and letting the whole thing loose with a bouncy drop.—
Katie Bain,
Billboard,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Senate Republicans are trying to divide Democrats on Thursday with a vote that would pay government workers deemed essential who are working without pay during the shutdown.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
22 Oct. 2025
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In the trailer, Whitney drops the bomb that she is set to start her own MomTok, as the group continues to be divided.—
Armando Tinoco,
Deadline,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The tens of thousands of ceramic fragments that were packed inside these underground time capsules have helped archaeologists date the layers and track the evolution of the temple's surroundings over the course of millennia.—
Pranjal Malewar,
New Atlas,
18 Oct. 2025
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Nanoplastics, the microscopic fragments shed from larger plastic waste, are emerging as a new frontier in environmental and health research.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In addition to the fortress itself, a number of artifacts were also unearthed, including pottery shards adorned with bright colors.—
Brendan Rascius,
Miami Herald,
17 Oct. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Splinter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/splinter. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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