fragmented

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

Synonyms of fragmented

• fractured
• broken
• shattered
• smashed

Examples of fragmented in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

The outcome is sluggish decisions, fragmented knowledge, and reduced productivity. —Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 11 Dec. 2025

There is no doubt that a fragmented regulatory landscape with inconsistent standards that would complicate compliance for AI businesses operating across the country is a very strong argument against allowing state-by-state regulation as an approach. —Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025

However, its complexity often results in overlapping responsibilities, fragmented authority, and challenges in ensuring streamlined decision-making. —Dan Walters, Mercury News, 5 Dec. 2025

Or just a reflex mean-reversion trade in some laggard sectors at a time when the AI theme has become more fragmented and treacherous? —Michael Santoli, CNBC, 4 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1817, in the meaning defined at sense 1