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

E‑waste recycling involves a fragmented web of manufacturers, independent collectors, processors, and recovery firms, each with different incentives and cost structures. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 25 Feb. 2026

Animals living in these fragmented zones can evolve in relative isolation, which is one reason karst regions tend to produce discoveries like this one. —Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 25 Feb. 2026

China’s economic and geopolitical rise is a 21st century story without rival, yet the most insightful global reporting on China’s ascent is fragmented and hard to access. —Rachel Keidan, semafor.com, 24 Feb. 2026

Greenland has free public health care, but because of underfunding, fragmented infrastructure, inadequate staffing and logistical challenges, the health care system has issues. —Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 24 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1817, in the meaning defined at sense 1