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fragmented
[ frag-muhn-tid, -men-, frag-men- ]
adjective
- reduced to fragments.
- existing or functioning as though broken into separate parts; disorganized; disunified:
a fragmented personality; a fragmented society.
Other Words From
- non·fragment·ed adjective
- over·fragment·ed adjective
- un·fragment·ed adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of fragmented1
Example Sentences
In our fragmented media landscape, it can be difficult to grasp just how large Carson loomed over the culture.
She added that co-operation between forces during the riots this summer had occurred “in spite of, not because of, the system,” whilst data sharing was "slow" and governance of forensics "fragmented".
However, it also criticised the "fragmented legislation" that it said allowed it to happen.
Mountain lions in the Los Angeles area deal with many challenges -- busy roadways where they're often killed, wildfires, rodenticide exposure, low genetic diversity and fragmented habitat.
How his alliance fares will be partly due to a fragmented opposition – with many leaders and parties breaking away into either smaller groups, or contesting as independent candidates.
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Related Words
More About Fragmented
What does fragmented mean?
Fragmented is an adjective that describes things that have been reduced or divided into fragments—pieces that have been broken off of or detached from the whole.
Fragment most commonly refers to a part that has broken off rather than one that has been separated gently or intentionally, like fragments of a broken vase or a broken bone. Such things can be described as fragmented.
As a verb, fragment can mean to break into pieces or disintegrate, as in The empire fragmented into multiple states after the emperor’s death. Such an empire could be described as fragmented.
Fragmented is perhaps most often applied to abstract or intangible things like this, in which case it usually means disorganized or disunified in some way. For example, a fragmented society is one in which there is an extreme lack of unity among different groups. This sense of the word often implies that the thing described as fragmented is broken or unhealthy in some way.
The verb fragmentize can mean the same thing as the verb sense of fragment, and the adjective fragmentized is a synonym of fragmented.
The related adjective fragmentary means something different: consisting of or reduced to fragments—disconnected or incomplete, as in fragmentary evidence.
Example: My attention becomes fragmented when I’m working on too many projects.
Where does fragmented come from?
The first records of the word fragmented as an adjective come from around the early 1800s. It ultimately comes from the Latin fragmentum, meaning “a broken piece,” from the verb frangere, meaning “to break.” The word fragile also comes from frangere.
When something is fragmented, it’s not entirely whole or organized. When the thing is a physical object, it’s probably broken into pieces. When it’s something intangible, it’s probably disorganized or lacking unity in some way.
The more literal senses of fragmentary and fragmented are similar, but fragmented is perhaps more likely to be used to describe the things that have broken off of something else, as in a fragmented bit of a broken bone or the fragmented pieces of a broken vase. Fragmentary, on the other hand, is more likely to be applied to the thing that was once whole, as opposed to the parts of it, as in fragmentary remains. Still, the words are sometimes used in overlapping ways, with fragmental being used as a less common synonym of fragmentary and fragmentized being used as a less common synonym of fragmented.
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms related to fragmented?
- nonfragmented (adjective)
- unfragmented (adjective)
- fragment (verb, noun)
What are some synonyms for fragmented?
What are some words that share a root or word element with fragmented?
What are some words that often get used in discussing fragmented?
How is fragmented used in real life?
When fragmented is used to describe things as disorganized or lacking unity, this is usually meant in a negative way.
Truth is fragmenting because society is fragmenting. Every aspect of society is fragmented when top 1% earn 25 x more than the other 99% and statistically African Americans are on their way to zero wealth by 2053. #infoneeds https://t.co/5U32fA0mzL
— Laura Flanders (@GRITlaura) February 26, 2019
"Authentication is fragmented and unwieldy. It requires a mix of hardcopy documents, online login credentials and digital wallets. This is frustrating for consumers and leads to the reuse of passwords and PINS that make the user vulnerable to fraud." https://t.co/VY3G9bBeUl
— Tim Bouma🇨🇦🆔 (@trbouma) October 22, 2020
If you want to increase the importance of something
just think about it more.
If you aren't getting what you want out of life
it is probably because you want too many things.
Your attention is fragmented.
Think more about what you really want
and you will want it more
— Eddy | War on Weakness (@waronweakness) October 25, 2020
Try using fragmented!
Which of the following words is a synonym of fragmented?
A. disunified
B. divided
C. splintered
D. all of the above
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