splinter group

noun

a small organization that becomes separated from or acts apart from an original larger group or a number of other small groups, with which it would normally be united, as because of disagreement.

Examples from the web for splinter group

Otherwise, the splinter group carries no threat to the fortunes of either major candidate.
It was a mere splinter group from the national and world organization.
There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things.
Two progovernment parties and a splinter group completed the registration process but were not registered by year's end.

British Dictionary definitions for splinter group

splinter group

noun

a number of members of an organization, political party, etc, who split from the main body and form an independent association, usually as the result of dissension

Idioms and Phrases with splinter group

splinter group

A part of an organization that breaks away from the main body, usually owing to disagreement. For example, Perot's supporters at first constituted a splinter group but soon formed a third political party. This idiom alludes to the noun splinter, a fragment of wood or some other material that is split or broken off. [ Mid-1900s ]