fragmentary

adjective

frag·​men·​tary ˈfrag-mən-ˌter-ē How to pronounce fragmentary (audio)
: consisting of fragments : incomplete
fragmentary evidence
a fragmentary account
fragmentarily adverb
fragmentariness noun

Examples of fragmentary in a Sentence

discovering fragmentary remains of primitive animals the historical record of this pharaoh's life and reign is fragmentary at best
Recent Examples on the Web But many of these fossils are fragmentary and offer little detail on what this strange fish looked like. Jack Tamisiea, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2024 These rare finds, even with their fragmentary skulls and hands, unveil more about evolution and life during the early Triassic. Jeanne Timmons, Ars Technica, 16 Aug. 2023 Because this sort of employment is inconsistent, the worker’s life can feel episodic and fragmentary: The human need for resolution is scrambled and replaced with a constantly precarious present. Bekah Waalkes, The Atlantic, 17 Nov. 2023 And perhaps this decentering of the canon is inevitably a fragmentary and messy business. Leslie Camhi, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2023 The artist William Kentridge is interested in who decides which people constitute the center and which the periphery, in finding meaning in the fragmentary and provisional. Susan Tallman, The New York Review of Books, 1 Dec. 2023 Our worldview is completely fragmentary and sometimes capricious. Isabelia Herrera, Pitchfork, 28 Nov. 2023 Some contain corpses, some only fragmentary remains, burned almost to ash. David S. Cloud, WSJ, 3 Nov. 2023 Most fossil remains from the period are fragmentary, with parts of the skull or tooth providing anthropologists with evidence of their physiology. Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 11 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fragmentary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fragmentary was in 1611

Dictionary Entries Near fragmentary

Cite this Entry

“Fragmentary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fragmentary. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fragmentary

adjective
frag·​men·​tary ˈfrag-mən-ˌter-ē How to pronounce fragmentary (audio)
: made up of fragments : incomplete
a fragmentary report

More from Merriam-Webster on fragmentary

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