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View synonyms for fragmented

fragmented

[ frag-muhn-tid, -men-, frag-men- ]

adjective

  1. reduced to fragments.
  2. existing or functioning as though broken into separate parts; disorganized; disunified:

    a fragmented personality; a fragmented society.



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Other Words From

  • non·fragment·ed adjective
  • over·fragment·ed adjective
  • un·fragment·ed adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of fragmented1

First recorded in 1810–20; fragment + -ed 3
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Example Sentences

The company’s CEO, Oliver Kharraz, says the years spent bridging a fragmented health-care system unknowingly prepared it for taking on covid-19 vaccination appointments.

He ran a popular competition in Philadelphia and established a Pro Breaking Tour and a nonprofit membership organization called Urban Dance & Educational Foundation with a vision of drawing together the fragmented breaking world.

Delays in vaccinations are partially the result of vaccine supply shortages, and partially the result of fragmented, underfunded healthcare systems lacking in federal support.

From Quartz

The market for holistic health is fragmented and there was nothing connecting symptoms to a provider’s capability.

From Fortune

Connecting fragmented habitats can boost biodiversity, research shows.

“These dictators for a long time had many political enemies, but they were fragmented,” Howard said.

Full-scale civil wars are giving way to fragmented armed groups with decentralized power bases in remote border regions.

In fragmented English, they replied, “The bunker, this no good for rockets,” and pointed at the thin ceiling.

The actual event underpinning his fragmented memory of being held by his arms and legs and having his pants cut still eludes him.

Fittingly, the stage is framed with light structures that remind one of what a fragmented Stargate might look like.

Also, the dorsolateral stripes in some individuals are fragmented posteriorly.

What would have happened then to the other portion of the bullet if it had fragmented?

At what point on the skull did the bullet, which fragmented into Commission Exhibit 857, strike?

Those on the right were too fragmented and distorted for satisfactory description.

They were clean, they had good color to them, there was no grease on them and they were not fragmented.

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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.

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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.

 

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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fragmentation grenadefragmentize