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

Synonyms

• 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

Collagen fibers themselves become fragmented within the body, while UV exposure can make your skin drier and less elastic over time. —Hannah Coates, Vogue, 5 Aug. 2025

As the sports sponsorship arena grows more crowded and more fragmented, brands need to be more intentional than ever. —Jeff Fromm, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025

Current approaches to classification, screening data collection, short- and long-term care, prevention and rehabilitation remain fragmented across systems. —Keita Franklin, New York Daily News, 4 Aug. 2025

Data is pulled from fragmented sources, often stale or contradictory. —Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1817, in the meaning defined at sense 1