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
Jared DiamondThe 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
Peter Bart2
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
Brett GlassYou probably won't notice a marked performance boost unless your hard drive is extremely fragmented.—Doug Stanley
Doug StanleyExamples of fragmented in a Sentence
restoring the fragmented Roman sculpture was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle
Recent Examples on the Web
Manual processes, fragmented data sources, and regulatory requirements create operational burdens that impact both costs and provider satisfaction.
—Tammy Hawes, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
As the global order becomes increasingly fragmented, the future of global hegemony is uncertain.
—Andrew Latham, The Conversation, 30 May 2025
Wolverine populations have recovered steadily in recent years, but the species remains endangered in Finland -- due to its small population size, low genetic viability and fragmented distribution, the researchers said.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 30 May 2025
Meanwhile, margins in the government securities industry could continue to come under pressure especially given the industry’s highly fragmented nature.
—Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for fragmented
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Tammy Hawes, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
As the global order becomes increasingly fragmented, the future of global hegemony is uncertain.
—Andrew Latham, The Conversation, 30 May 2025
Wolverine populations have recovered steadily in recent years, but the species remains endangered in Finland -- due to its small population size, low genetic viability and fragmented distribution, the researchers said.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 30 May 2025
Meanwhile, margins in the government securities industry could continue to come under pressure especially given the industry’s highly fragmented nature.
—Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for fragmented
Cite this Entry
“Fragmented.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fragmented. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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