splinter group
Definition
Noun: A splinter group is a small faction or sect that has separated from a larger organization, movement, or political party, typically due to disagreement over principles, policies, or leadership.
Usage
A "splinter group" is used to describe a breakaway faction. It emphasizes the act of splitting off from a larger, established body. The term often carries connotations of internal conflict, ideological division, and a reduction in the original group's size or influence.
Examples
- The political party weakened after a splinter group formed to protest the new leadership.
- Several members left the main environmental coalition to start a more radical splinter group.
- The peace talks were complicated by the demands of an armed splinter group that had broken from the main rebel force.
Advanced Usage
- To splinter off: This verb phrase describes the action of forming a splinter group.
- Disagreements over strategy caused a faction to splinter off and form its own party.
Variants and Related Words
- Faction (n): A small, organized, dissenting group within a larger one.
- Sect (n): A group of people with somewhat different religious or political beliefs from the larger group they belong to.
- Breakaway group (n): A near-synonymous term for a splinter group.
- Offshoot (n): Something that develops from something else; a branch or derivative.
Synonyms
- Faction
- Sect
- Breakaway group
- Offshoot
- Separatist group
Antonyms
- Mainstream
- Parent organization
- Unified body
Noun
-
a faction or sect that has broken away from its parent organization
