fragmented

[frag-muhn-tid, -men-, frag-men-]

adjective

1. reduced to fragments.

2. existing or functioning as though broken into separate parts; disorganized; disunified.

   a fragmented personality; a fragmented society.

Other Word Forms

• nonfragmented adjective
• overfragmented adjective
• unfragmented adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fragmented¹

First recorded in 1810–20; fragment + -ed ³

Example Sentences

But in today's fragmented political landscape in which the combined poll ratings for Conservative and Labour are at an historic low, it could be.

From BBC

There are six steel companies in the UK, four of which are currently being financially supported by the government, and ministers believe the sector is too fragmented.

From BBC

From her repetitious linework to her paintings of blue skies with surrealist feathers and self-portraits of her fragmented nude body, Hurtado’s art is marked by her sense of experimentation and constant changes in style.

From Los Angeles Times

Liberty Station, the decades-long transformation of San Diego’s massive Naval Training Center into a mixed-use neighborhood and cultural district, is a welcome reprieve from much of Southern California’s fragmented sprawl.

From Los Angeles Times

Designing the wheels is another challenge, as the Moon's surface is covered with a sticky layer of fragmented rock and dust called regolith.

From BBC

Related Words

• busted 
• collapsed www.thesaurus.com
• cracked 
• crumbled www.thesaurus.com
• crushed www.thesaurus.com
• damaged www.thesaurus.com
• defective 
• demolished www.thesaurus.com
• destroyed www.thesaurus.com
• fractured www.thesaurus.com
• injured www.thesaurus.com
• mangled www.thesaurus.com
• mutilated www.thesaurus.com
• ruptured www.thesaurus.com
• severed 
• shattered 
• smashed 
• splintered www.thesaurus.com

When To Use

What does fragmented mean?

Fragmented is an adjective that describes things that have been reduced or divided into fragments—pieces that have been broken off of or detached from the whole.Fragment most commonly refers to a part that has broken off rather than one that has been separated gently or intentionally, like fragments of a broken vase or a broken bone. Such things can be described as fragmented.As a verb, fragment can mean to break into pieces or disintegrate, as in The empire fragmented into multiple states after the emperor’s death. Such an empire could be described as fragmented.Fragmented is perhaps most often applied to abstract or intangible things like this, in which case it usually means disorganized or disunified in some way. For example, a fragmented society is one in which there is an extreme lack of unity among different groups. This sense of the word often implies that the thing described as fragmented is broken or unhealthy in some way.The verb fragmentize can mean the same thing as the verb sense of fragment, and the adjective fragmentized is a synonym of fragmented.The related adjective fragmentary means something different: consisting of or reduced to fragments—disconnected or incomplete, as in fragmentary evidence.Example: My attention becomes fragmented when I’m working on too many projects.