splinter

C2 Topic:Materials & Substances

US /ˈsplɪn.tɚ/ UK /ˈsplɪn.tə(ɹ)/ See IPA manual

Freq #11360

Meanings

1

noun
A small, thin, sharp piece of wood, glass, or metal.

She got a splinter in her finger from the old wooden bench.
2

verb
To break into thin, sharp pieces.

The old door splintered when he kicked it.
3

verb
To break a group apart into smaller, opposing factions.

The party splintered after its leaders disagreed.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a small, thin, sharp piece... sliver

2 verb · to break into thin, sharp... sliver

3 verb · to break a group apart into... break awaysecede

More shardspelkspill

Word family

Forms splinteredsplinteringsplinters

Derived forms antisplinternonsplinteringsplinter-newsplinterablesplintercatsplinteringlysplinterizesplinterlesssplinterlikesplinternetsplinterproofsplintery

Related forms splint

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

splinter group
a group that has broken away from a larger organization

Noun + noun

Etymology

From Middle English splenter, splinter, from Middle Dutch splinter, equivalent to splint + -er.

splenter Middle English splinter Middle Dutch

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Materials & Substances Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# splinter

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈsplɪn.tɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsplɪn.tə(ɹ)/
**Frequency rank:** 11360

## Meanings
1. A small, thin, sharp piece of wood, glass, or metal.
2. To break into thin, sharp pieces.
3. To break a group apart into smaller, opposing factions.

## Examples
- She got a splinter in her finger from the old wooden bench.
- The old door splintered when he kicked it.
- The party splintered after its leaders disagreed.

## Synonyms
- shard
- sliver
- spelk
- spill

## Derived Forms
- antisplinter
- nonsplintering
- splinter-new
- splinterable
- splintercat
- splinteringly
- splinterize
- splinterless
- splinterlike
- splinternet
- splinterproof
- splintery

## Related Forms
- splint

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: splenter
- Root: splinter

## Etymology
From Middle English splenter, splinter, from Middle Dutch splinter, equivalent to splint + -er.

## AI Etymology
Splinter is from Middle English splenter, splinter, from Middle Dutch splinter, equivalent to splint + -er. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include splenter (Middle English) and splinter (Middle Dutch). Current senses include a small, thin, sharp piece of wood, glass, or metal and to break into thin, sharp pieces. The wider family includes derived forms such as antisplinter, nonsplintering, splinter-new, splinterable, and splintercat; related words such as splint.

## Topics
- Materials & Substances
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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