piecemeal
adverb
, -ˈmēl\
Definition of piecemeal
(Entry 1 of 2)
piecemeal
adjectiveDefinition of piecemeal (Entry 2 of 2)
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Synonyms & Antonyms for piecemeal
Synonyms: Adverb
gradationally, gradually, inchmeal, little by little, piece by piece
Synonyms: Adjective
gradational, gradual, incremental, phased, step-by-step
Antonyms: Adverb
Antonyms: Adjective
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Examples of piecemeal in a Sentence
Adverb
remodeled their house piecemeal because of budgetary constraints one well-aimed blow ripped the piñata piecemealAdjective
They've done piecemeal repairs in the past, but the bridge now needs major reconstruction. Some people want the changes to be made all at once, but I think we should take a more piecemeal approach.
Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb
In any case, Apple is expected to roll out updates piecemeal over iOS 12's lifetime rather than front loading them in one big update. — Samuel Axon, Ars Technica, "WWDC 2018: What we expect Apple to announce on June 4," 1 June 2018 To avoid feeling overwhelmed by this task, tackle it piecemeal, a room, closet, shelf, drawer at a time. — Jane E. Brody, charlotteobserver, "How to age well and stay in your home," 27 June 2018 To avoid feeling overwhelmed by this task, tackle it piecemeal, a room, closet, shelf, drawer at a time. — Jane E. Brody, charlotteobserver, "How to age well and stay in your home," 27 June 2018 To avoid feeling overwhelmed by this task, tackle it piecemeal, a room, closet, shelf, drawer at a time. — New York Times, "How to Age Well and Stay in Your Home," 21 May 2018 To avoid feeling overwhelmed by this task, tackle it piecemeal, a room, closet, shelf, drawer at a time. — Jane E. Brody, charlotteobserver, "How to age well and stay in your home," 27 June 2018 The circumstances of his eventual departure are revealed piecemeal, as the narrative cycles between past and present, examining conflicts and betrayals from many perspectives. — Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, "Briefly Noted," 24 June 2018 To avoid feeling overwhelmed by this task, tackle it piecemeal, a room, closet, shelf, drawer at a time. — Jane E. Brody, charlotteobserver, "How to age well and stay in your home," 27 June 2018 Legislation is built piecemeal but voted on as a single unit. — Chris Stirewalt, Fox News, "What are Dems to do about the SupCo?," 27 June 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
The president remained in charge of drafting the rest of the budget, although Congress kept increasing spending on a piecemeal basis. — John Steele Gordon, WSJ, "Why We Have So Many Shutdowns," 16 Jan. 2019 In Colorado, where $1 billion a year of marijuana is sold legally, the approach is localized and piecemeal. — Ted Rall, WSJ, "Criminal Records for Obsolete Crimes," 9 Jan. 2019 Those piecemeal changes in the act are then incorporated, one by one, into the Code in a process called codification. — Joshua Tauberer, Ars Technica, "How I changed the law with a GitHub pull request," 25 Nov. 2018 Tuesday’s meeting comes ahead of votes that Pelosi has planned on a piecemeal reopening of the government, beginning with the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service. — Josh Dawsey, The Seattle Times, "Trump to make prime-time address, visit US-Mexico border amid shutdown stalemate," 7 Jan. 2019 After repeated failed attempts to auction Aamby Valley, the court ordered piecemeal sale of the project’s land. — Anto Antony, Bloomberg.com, "Billionaire’s Folly Becomes Bankers’ Nightmare," 18 June 2018 Because there’s no one arc through the whole runtime, the work of tracking with the piecemeal tale can get mentally exhausting after a while. — Alissa Wilkinson, Vox, "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is an old West folk tale, with a signature Coen brothers twist," 15 Oct. 2018 Her 15-month separation from her mother exposes the fragile legal standing of children under the care of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement and a flawed, piecemeal system that can change the course of a child’s life. — Garance Burke And Martha Mendoza, The Seattle Times, "Deported parents may lose their kids to adoption," 9 Oct. 2018 The names were released in piecemeal fashion with critical details missing. — Fox News, "San Diego diocese adds 8 priests to list of predators," 14 Sep. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'piecemeal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for piecemeal
piecemeal
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of piecemeal
See the full definition for piecemeal in the English Language Learners Dictionary
piecemeal
adverb
\
Kids Definition of piecemeal
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