splinters

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Thin, sharp pieces of wood, glass or other hard material that have broken off a larger piece.

   Grammar: Plural of splinter; pieces broke into splinters.

   Patterns

   • splinters of something
   • in splinters

   The old chair broke into splinters when he sat on it.

   Splinters of glass lay across the pavement.

   He picked splinters out of his palm with tweezers.

2. 2nounpluralfigurative

   Small groups that break away from a larger organisation, especially a political party or movement.

   Grammar: Often used in a political sense, with splinter groups.

   Patterns

   • splinters of something

   Several splinters from the main party formed their own group.

   The movement fractured into splinters over the leadership dispute.

Word forms

Common combinations

remove splinters

The nurse removed splinters from the child's finger.

get splinters

Do not slide down that rail, you will get splinters.

splinters of glass

Splinters of glass lay under the broken window.

break into splinters

The fence broke into splinters in the storm.

splinters of wood

Splinters of wood flew from the axe.

Synonyms and how they differ

shards

Shards are usually larger broken pieces of glass or pottery, while splinters are thin and needle-like.

fragments

Fragments is a general word for broken pieces with no suggestion of sharp slivers.

slivers

Slivers are thin slices, often cut deliberately, whereas splinters come from breaking.

chips

Chips are small flat pieces knocked off, not thin and pointed.

Word family

splinter verb

to break into thin sharp pieces

splintered adjective

broken into thin pieces

splintery adjective

likely to produce splinters

splinter group noun

a faction that breaks away

Commonly confused: splinters or splints?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “splinters”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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