splinter
- a small, thin, sharp piece of wood, bone, or the like, split or broken off from the main body.
- splinter group.
- to split or break into splinters.
- to break off (something) in splinters.
- to split or break (a larger group) into separate factions or independent groups.
- Obsolete. to secure or support by a splint or splints, as a broken limb.
- to be split or broken into splinters.
- to break off in splinters.
Origin of splinter
Synonyms for splinter
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for splintery
acute, pointed, keen, salient, fine, tapering, flimsy, brittle, crisp, frail, gnawing, jagged, shooting, serrated, barbed, acuminate, peaked, piercing, tinedExamples from the Web for splintery
Contemporary Examples of splintery
My first exposure to the piece came from the splintery wood cabinet in the corner of the studio.
Historical Examples of splintery
The nature of the bark is known by its splintery, fibrous, or corky texture.
On the Banks of the AmazonW.H.G. Kingston
It is rarely used for inside finishing, owing to its brittle and splintery character.
American Forest TreesHenry H. Gibson
The next rock is a porphyritic horn-stone, and splintery horn-stone.
Hornstone occurs under three modifications; splintery hornstone, conchoidal hornstone, and woodstone.
A brittle wood breaks suddenly with a clean instead of a splintery fracture and without warning.
The Mechanical Properties of WoodSamuel J. Record
splintery
- liable to produce or break into splinters
splinter
- a very small sharp piece of wood, glass, metal, etc, characteristically long and thin, broken off from a whole
- a metal fragment, from the container of a shell, bomb, etc, thrown out during an explosion
- to reduce or be reduced to sharp fragments; shatter
- to break or be broken off in small sharp fragments
Word Origin for splinter
Word Origin and History for splintery
splinter
late 14c., from Middle Dutch splinter, splenter "a splinter," related to splinte (see splint). The adjective (as in splinter party) is first recorded 1935, from the noun.
splinter
1580s, from splinter (n.). Figurative sense from c.1600. Related: Splintered; splintering.