fragmentary

frag·men·tary | \ ˈfrag-mən-ˌter-ē

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Definition of fragmentary

: consisting of fragments : incomplete fragmentary evidence a fragmentary account

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Examples of fragmentary in a Sentence

discovering fragmentary remains of primitive animals the historical record of this pharaoh's life and reign is fragmentary at best

Recent Examples on the Web More resonant than the book's sometimes fragmentary strands of the plot, though, is the immediacy of her characters, their hopes and fears and ordinary dreams. — EW.com, "Megha Majumdar offers an unmissable portrait of modern India in kaleidoscopic debut A Burning: Review," 2 June 2020 One of the fossils that Westoll purchased from them was a small, fragmentary skull roof that was to become a cornerstone in our understanding of the evolutionary transition between fishes and tetrapods. — John A. Long, Scientific American, "How a 380-Million-Year-Old Fish Gave Us Fingers," 20 May 2020 Others said that the findings were in line with the fragmentary evidence that had been available until now. — James Glanz, New York Times, "Hidden Outbreaks Spread Through U.S. Cities Far Earlier Than Americans Knew, Estimates Say," 23 Apr. 2020 The spire and the wood have become intertwined flash points that seem to divide French opinion not into clearly opposed ideological camps, but into myriad fragmentary alignments of opinion, as complex as one of the cathedral’s rose windows. — Washington Post, "The battle for Notre Dame," 16 Jan. 2020 That may not sound like much, but the specimen is relatively complete compared to the very fragmentary remains of other German pterosaurs from this time period. — John Pickrell, National Geographic, "Unusual toothy pterosaur found hidden in the wrong group," 26 Nov. 2019 On Wednesday, even as the first fragmentary reports of Turkish attacks on America’s Kurdish allies were coming in from Syria, a new Fox News poll showed that fifty-one per cent of Americans support Trump’s impeachment and removal from office. — Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, "Republicans Trash Trump on Syria—but Not Ukraine," 10 Oct. 2019 The Democrats seem less like a solid organization than a social network, fragmentary and porous but just connected enough for some similar ideas to occasionally pulse through. — Benjamin Wallace-wells, The New Yorker, "The New Coalition Behind Joe Biden," 3 Mar. 2020 With a fragmentary and skewed presentation of the facts, the State asks this Court to ignore the compelling evidence of innocence,’’ Brown and Ahlemeyer wrote. — oregonlive, "Frank Gable’s lawyers challenge state’s appeal of his release, order for new trial," 18 Mar. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fragmentary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near fragmentary

fragmentation bomb

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Last Updated

8 Jun 2020

Cite this Entry

“Fragmentary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fragmentary. Accessed 3 Aug. 2020.

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