fragmented

1 of 2

adjective

frag·​ment·​ed ˈfrag-ˌmen-təd 

1

: broken or separated into distinct parts

Another fragmented language group is the Austroasiatic family, whose most widely spoken languages are Vietnamese and Cambodian.

—Jared Diamond

The reality seems to be that the global audience for movies has become increasingly diverse and fragmented, which runs against Hollywood's obsession with finding that magic common denominator.

—Peter Bart

2

computing : having related or associated pieces of stored data disorganized in a way that makes them more difficult to access

Fragmented files require much more work to read than contiguous files, because to do so DOS must chase down each sector, possibly moving the disk head back and forth many times. Each of these … slows the task at hand and results in additional wear and tear on your hard disk.

—Brett Glass

You probably won't notice a marked performance boost unless your hard drive is extremely fragmented.

—Doug Stanley

A computer's hard drive becomes more and more fragmented every time a file is saved, a file is deleted or a program is installed.

—Shea Conner

fragmented

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of fragment entry 2

Synonyms of fragmented

Adjective

• fractured
• broken
• shattered
• smashed

Examples of fragmented in a Sentence

Adjective

restoring the fragmented Roman sculpture was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Experts who are part of consultations expect the new policy to lay down clear and consistent rules, which will also help the industry overcome challenges around land acquisition and simplify a fragmented approval process. — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026

Still, telehealth platforms marketing GLP-1s for addiction trouble some experts, who say this could cause fragmented care and potentially inappropriate prescriptions as researchers are still working to understand and vet the unproven treatments. — Ed Silverman, STAT, 22 Oct. 2026

Tyler has defended its work throughout, noting the various county offices proposed evolving requirements and had fragmented data that required significant cleanup. — A.d. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026

Conti’s songs are more fragmented and less wilfully melancholic than Smith’s. — Alex Robert Ross, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1817, in the meaning defined at sense 1