Fragmented
/ˈfræɡ.mən.tɪd/
Definitions
2 meaningsBroken into small, disconnected pieces; incomplete; divided.
/ˈfræɡ.mən.tɪd/
Broken into small pieces or disconnected
The mirror shattered into fragmented pieces after the accident.
💡 Simply: Imagine you drop your favorite cookie and it breaks into a bunch of little pieces. That's fragmented! It's not whole anymore.
👶 For kids: When something is in many little pieces, like a puzzle that's not put together yet.
More Examples
The novel's narrative structure was fragmented, making it difficult to follow.
The once-unified organization was now a fragmented collection of independent groups.
How It's Used
"The company's data was fragmented across several different servers."
"The political landscape became fragmented after the election."
"The narrative was fragmented, jumping between different timelines and perspectives."
Past tense or past participle of the verb 'fragment' - to break or separate into pieces.
/ˈfræɡ.mən.tɪd/
Having been broken into pieces or disconnected
The information was fragmented across multiple sources.
💡 Simply: If you broke a cookie into many pieces, you fragmented it.
👶 For kids: When something was broken into many little parts.
More Examples
The team's efforts were fragmented by conflicting priorities.
The text was fragmented due to missing pages.
How It's Used
"The artist fragmented the image to create an abstract effect."
"The project was fragmented due to poor planning."
From Latin *frangere* ("to break") and the suffix '-ment'. The word developed through Old French and Middle English, describing something broken into pieces or incomplete.
Historically used to describe physical objects broken into pieces, later expanded to abstract concepts and information.
Memory tip
Think of a broken vase; it's fragmented.
Word Origin
"to break"