splinter

[splin-ter]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR splinter ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a small, thin, sharp piece of wood, bone, or the like, split or broken off from the main body.

splinter group.

verb (used with object)

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.

verb (used without object)

to be split or broken into splinters.

to break off in splinters.

Origin of splinter

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle Dutch or Middle Low German; cf. splint

Related formssplin·ter·less, adjectivesplin·ter·y, adjectiveun·splin·tered, adjective

Synonyms for splinter

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1. sliver. 8. separate, part, split.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for splintery

acute, pointed, keen, salient, fine, tapering, flimsy, brittle, crisp, frail, gnawing, jagged, shooting, serrated, barbed, acuminate, peaked, piercing, tined

Examples 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.
How to Write a Winning Ivy League Essay
Kathleen Kingsbury
October 25, 2009

Historical Examples of splintery

The nature of the bark is known by its splintery, fibrous, or corky texture.
On the Banks of the Amazon
W.H.G. Kingston
It is rarely used for inside finishing, owing to its brittle and splintery character.
American Forest Trees
Henry H. Gibson
The next rock is a porphyritic horn-stone, and splintery horn-stone.
The Mission to Siam, and Hu the Capital of Cochin China, in the Years 1821-2
George Finlayson
Hornstone occurs under three modifications; splintery hornstone, conchoidal hornstone, and woodstone.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines
Andrew Ure
A brittle wood breaks suddenly with a clean instead of a splintery fracture and without warning.
The Mechanical Properties of Wood
Samuel J. Record

British Dictionary definitions for splintery

splintery

adjective

liable to produce or break into splinters

splinter

noun

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

verb

to reduce or be reduced to sharp fragments; shatter

to break or be broken off in small sharp fragments

Word Origin for splinter

C14: from Middle Dutch splinter; see splint

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.