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The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms INTRO ...

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splinter n. 1 sliver, fragment, piece; scrap, shard, shred, chip: A<br />

splinter <strong>of</strong> glass is stuck in my finger.<br />

--v. 2 shatter, break, fragment, split, disintegrate, smash to<br />

smithereens: <strong>The</strong> lamp hit the floor and splintered into a<br />

million pieces.<br />

split v. 1 Often, split up or apart. divide, separate, cleave, cut or<br />

chop apart, cut or chop in two, pull or tear apart, rend, break<br />

or snap apart or in two, break up, come apart, rupture,<br />

partition, detach, become detached; bisect, dichotomize: He<br />

split the log with one blow <strong>of</strong> his axe. <strong>The</strong> ship split apart on<br />

the reef. <strong>The</strong> party may split on the tax issue. 2 Often, split<br />

up. divorce, separate, go separate ways, break up, part company:<br />

After 30 years, the Hitchcocks have decided to split up. 3<br />

Often, split up. branch, fork, diverge, separate: <strong>The</strong> road<br />

splits to pass round the pond. 4 Often, split up. divide (up),<br />

apportion, deal out, dole out, distribute, allot, share or<br />

parcel out, carve up: Why don't we split the dinner bill five<br />

ways? 5 burst, crack or break up, fall apart or about, Slang<br />

bust: I laughed so much I thought I'd split! 6 leave, depart,<br />

go, Slang take a (run-out) powder, take it on the lam, beat it,<br />

scram, skedaddle: When they heard the sirens <strong>of</strong> the police<br />

cars, they split.<br />

--n. 7 crack, cleft, fissure, chink, cranny, slit, slot,<br />

crevice, groove, furrow, channel, sulcus; gap, hiatus, lacuna,<br />

opening, separation, division, chasm; rift, break, rupture,<br />

fracture; slash, gash, tear, rip, rent: <strong>The</strong> edges <strong>of</strong> the<br />

tectonic plates mark splits in the earth's crust. Pressure<br />

caused the splits in these plaster columns. I had to borrow a<br />

tablecloth to cover up the split in my trousers. 8 division,<br />

dichotomy, schism, breach, rupture, partition, disunion,<br />

discord; break, separation: Don't you think that the issue will<br />

cause a split within the party?<br />

--adj. 9 divided, separated; halved, bisected, cleft; cut,<br />

broken, fractured: <strong>The</strong> result was a split vote along party<br />

lines. <strong>The</strong>ir first containers were <strong>of</strong> split bamboo.<br />

splurge n. 1 display, show, ostentatiousness, extravagance, indulgence,<br />

access, splash, burst, outburst, spree: In his final splurge he<br />

bet everything on the number 14.

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