splintered

The splintered fluorine atoms, the researchers report, are safely sequestered by reacting them with potassium hydride in solution to form potassium fluoride, a nontoxic ingredient in toothpaste.

What that leaves Japan with is a weakened ruling party and a splintered opposition.

The groups that marched under that banner had no formal leadership or organization, so after President Obama was reelected in 2012, they splintered into grifting factions.

But now, post-7 October, the collective is splintered - psychologically and physically.

Forced to fight on new fronts, the army has since lost between half and two-thirds of Myanmar to a splintered opposition.