shred

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)

CIDE DICTIONARY

shred, n. [OE. shrede, schrede, AS. screáde; akin to OD. schroode, G. schrot a piece cut off, Icel. skrjo&edh;r a shred, and to E. shroud. Cf. Screed, Scroll, Scrutiny.].

•  A long, narrow piece cut or torn off; a strip.  Bacon.  [1913 Webster]
•  In general, a fragment; a piece; a particle.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

shred, v. t. [OE. shreden, schreden, AS. screádian; akin to OD. schrooden, OHG. scrtan, G. schroten. See Shred, n.].

•  To cut or tear into small pieces, particularly narrow and long pieces, as of cloth or leather.  Chaucer.  [1913 Webster]
•  To lop; to prune; to trim.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

shred, n. & v.
--n.
1 a scrap, fragment, or strip of esp. cloth, paper, etc.
2 the least amount, remnant (not a shred of evidence).
--v.tr. (shredded, shredding) tear or cut into shreds.

Idiom

tear to shreds completely refute (an argument etc.).

Etymology

OE scread (unrecorded) piece cut off, screadian f. WG: see SHROUD

THESAURUS

shred

Mystik tape, Scotch tape, abrade, adhesive tape, atom, atomize, band, bandage, batten, beat, belt, bit, bray, brecciate, butt, cellophane tape, chip, chunk, clip, clipping, cloth tape, collop, comminute, contriturate, crumb, crumble, crush, cut, cutting, defoliate, demolish, denude, destroy, disintegrate, dismember, dispose of, dollop, draw and quarter, end, fascia, filament, fillet, flay, flour, fragment, friction tape, gin, girdle, gob, gobbet, grain, granulate, granulize, grate, grind, grind to powder, hint, hunk, iota, jot, lacerate, lath, levigate, ligula, ligule, list, lota, lump, maim, mangle, mash, masking tape, mill, modicum, moiety, morceau, morsel, mutilate, nip, ounce, paring, particle, patch, peel, pestle, pick to pieces, piece, plank, plastic tape, pound, powder, pull apart, pulverize, rag, rasher, ray, reduce to powder, remnant, ribband, ribbon, scintilla, scoop, scrap, scrunch, shard, shave, shaving, shiver, skin, slat, slice, slip, sliver, smash, smidgen, smithereen, snack, snatch, snick, snip, snippet, speck, spill, spin, spline, splinter, squash, stitch, strake, strap, strip, strop, stump, suggestion, taenia, tag, take apart, tape, tape measure, tapeline, tatter, tear apart, tear to pieces, tear to tatters, tear up, throw away, ticker tape, tittle, trace, trash, triturate, whit

ROGET THESAURUS

shred

Greatness

N greatness, magnitude, size, multitude, immensity, enormity, infinity, might, strength, intensity, fullness, importance, great quantity, quantity, deal, power, sight, pot, volume, world, mass, heap, stock, peck, bushel, load, cargo, cartload, wagonload, shipload, flood, spring tide, abundance, principal part, chief part, main part, greater part, major part, best part, essential part, bulk, mass, great, greater, large, considerable, fair, above par, big, huge, Herculean, cyclopean, ample, abundant, full, intense, strong, sound, passing, heavy, plenary, deep, high, signal, at its height, in the zenith, world-wide, widespread, far-famed, extensive, wholesale, many, goodly, noble, precious, mighty, sad, grave, heavy, serious, far gone, arrant, downright, utter, uttermost, crass, gross, arch, profound, intense, consummate, rank, uninitiated, red-hot, desperate, glaring, flagrant, stark staring, thorough-paced, thoroughgoing, roaring, thumping, extraordinary, important, unsurpassed, complete, august, grand, dignified, sublime, majestic, vast, immense, enormous, extreme, inordinate, excessive, extravagant, exorbitant, outrageous, preposterous, unconscionable, swinging, monstrous, overgrown, towering, stupendous, prodigious, astonishing, incredible, marvelous, unlimited, unapproachable, unutterable, indescribable, ineffable, unspeakable, inexpressible, beyond expression, fabulous, undiminished, unabated, unreduced, unrestricted, absolute, positive, stark, decided, unequivocal, essential, perfect, finished, remarkable, of mark, marked, pointed, veriest, noteworthy, renowned, truly, decidedly, unequivocally, purely, absolutely, seriously, essentially, fundamentally, radically, downright, in all conscience, for the most part, in the main, entirely, abundantly, widely, far and wide, greatly, much, muckle, well, indeed, very, very much, a deal, no end of, most, not a little, pretty, pretty well, enough, in a great measure, richly, to a large extent, to a great extent, to a gigantic extent, on a large scale, so, never so, ever so, ever so dole, scrap, shred, tag, splinter, rag, much, by wholesale, mighty, powerfully, with a witness, ultra, in the extreme, extremely, exceedingly, intensely, exquisitely, acutely, indefinitely, immeasurably, beyond compare, beyond comparison, beyond measure, beyond all bounds, incalculably, infinitely, preeminently, superlatively, immoderately, monstrously, preposterously, inordinately, exorbitantly, excessively, enormously, out of all proportion, with a vengeance, particularly, remarkably, singularly, curiously, uncommonly, unusually, peculiarly, notably, signally, strikingly, pointedly, mainly, chiefly, famously, egregiously, prominently, glaringly, emphatically, kat exochin, strangely, wonderfully, amazingly, surprisingly, astonishingly, incredibly, marvelously, awfully, stupendously, peculiarly, furiously, severely, desperately, tremendously, extravagantly, confoundedly, deucedly, devilishly, with a vengeance, a outrance, a toute outrance, painfully, sadly, grossly, sorely, bitterly, piteously, grievously, miserably, cruelly, woefully, lamentably, shockingly, frightfully, dreadfully, fearfully, terribly, horribly, a maximis ad minima, greatness knows itself, mightiest powers by deepest calms are fed, minimum decet libere cui multum licet, some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.

Filament

N filament, line, fiber, fibril, funicle, vein, hair, capillament, cilium, cilia, pilus, pili, tendril, gossamer, hair stroke, veinlet, venula, venule, wire, string, thread, packthread, cotton, sewing silk, twine, twist, whipcord, tape, ribbon, cord, rope, yarn, hemp, oakum, jute, strip, shred, slip, spill, list, band, fillet, fascia, ribbon, riband, roll, lath, splinter, shiver, shaving, beard, ramification, strand, filamentous, filamentiferous, filaceous, filiform, fibrous, fibrillous, thread-like, wiry, stringy, ropy, capillary, capilliform, funicular, wire-drawn, anguilliform, flagelliform, hairy, taeniate, taeniform, taenioid, venose, venous.