splinters
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun (plural):
- Small, sharp, thin pieces of wood, glass, metal, or other hard material that have broken off from a larger piece. This is the primary meaning, referring to the physical fragments themselves.
- The act or result of breaking into such small, sharp fragments. This meaning refers to the state or material composed of these fragments.
Usage
- The noun "splinters" is almost always used in its plural form to describe multiple fragments.
- It is commonly used with verbs like , , , , and .
- It often follows prepositions like (e.g., splinters of wood) or (e.g., a splinter in my finger).
Examples
- Noun:
- I got splinters in my hand from the old wooden railing.
- The safety glass broke into tiny, harmless splinters.
- He carefully removed the splinters of glass from the floor.
Advanced Usage
- "To be beaten/broken/smashed to splinters": An idiom meaning to be completely shattered or destroyed into small fragments.
- The old chair fell apart and was beaten to splinters.
- Used metaphorically to describe something dividing into many conflicting parts.
- The political party fractured into splinters.
Variants and Related Words
- Splinter (noun): The singular form, referring to one such fragment.
- I have a splinter in my thumb.
- Splinter (verb): To break or cause to break into small, sharp fragments.
- The impact caused the wood to splinter.
- Splintery (adjective): Likely to splinter or full of splinters.
- The splintery old bench was unsafe to sit on.
Synonyms
- Shards: Often used for glass or pottery.
- Slivers: Very thin, small splinters.
- Fragments: More general term for broken pieces.
- Shivers (archaic/poetic): Splinters or fragments.
Related Phrases
- Splinter group: A small organization that has broken away from a larger one, typically due to disagreement.
- A splinter group left the main union to form their own.
Noun
- wood in small pieces or splinters
- the vessel was beaten to matchwood on the rocks