fragmentate
Americanverb (used with or without object)
Usage
What does fragmentate mean? Fragmentate means to separate something into parts or to break it into fragments—pieces, especially ones that have been broken off of or detached from something else.Fragment can also be used as a verb to mean the same thing as fragmentate, but it is much more commonly used.Sometimes, someone or something does the fragmentating, as in They’re going to fragmentate the corporation into several companies. Fragmentate can also mean for something to break into fragments without someone doing the fragmentating, as in The fossilized remains fragmentated over thousands of years. The verb fragmentize can be used to mean the same thing as fragmentate. The adjective fragmentized describes things that have been broken into fragments or things that are or have been disorganized or disunified in some way. The adjective fragmented is more commonly used to mean the same thing.The related noun fragmentation refers to the process of breaking or falling into fragments.Example: The eroding forces of wind and water have fragmentated the rock into tiny bits.
Etymology
Origin of fragmentate
First recorded in 1940–45; back formation from fragmentation
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
