fragment 1 of 2

verb

ˈfrag-ˌment How to pronounce fragment (audio)
Definition of fragmentnext
as in to disrupt
to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly you can fragment that peanut brittle easily, but how it breaks is basically up to the brittle

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

fragment

2 of 2

noun

ˈfrag-mənt How to pronounce fragment (audio)
as in piece
a broken or irregular part of something that often remains incomplete charred fragments of the exploded rocket were scattered over a huge area of ground

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word fragment distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of fragment are division, member, part, piece, portion, section, and segment. While all these words mean "something less than the whole," fragment applies to a part produced by or as if by breaking off.

only a fragment of the play still exists

When would division be a good substitute for fragment?

The meanings of division and fragment largely overlap; however, division applies to a large or diversified part.

the manufacturing division of the company

When is it sensible to use member instead of fragment?

While the synonyms member and fragment are close in meaning, member suggests one of the functional units composing a body.

a structural member

Where would part be a reasonable alternative to fragment?

The words part and fragment are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, part is a general term appropriate when indefiniteness is required.

they ran only part of the way

When can piece be used instead of fragment?

In some situations, the words piece and fragment are roughly equivalent. However, piece applies to a separate or detached part of a whole.

a puzzle with 500 pieces

When could portion be used to replace fragment?

Although the words portion and fragment have much in common, portion implies an assigned or allotted part.

cut the pie into six portions

When is section a more appropriate choice than fragment?

The synonyms section and fragment are sometimes interchangeable, but section applies to a relatively small or uniform part.

the entertainment section of the newspaper

When might segment be a better fit than fragment?

While in some cases nearly identical to fragment, segment applies to a part separated or marked out by or as if by natural lines of cleavage.

the retired segment of the population

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fragment
Verb
Instead of leading to collapse, this causes the cloud to fragment into many smaller bits, producing a cluster of newborn stars and averting direct collapse into a black hole. —Paul Sutter, Space.com, 21 Apr. 2025 The expansion of human populations into the wildland-urban interface further fragments bear habitats, displacing the animals and forcing them into closer contact with humans. —Benjamin Alva Polley, Rolling Stone, 10 May 2025
Noun
Hunters found the skull fragments in October of last year. —Jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 May 2025 Knight was grazed by a bullet fragment or shrapnel from the car, while Shakur was shot four times, at least twice in the chest. —Edward Segarra, USA Today, 14 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for fragment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fragment
  1. disrupt
  2. piece
  3. fracture
  4. fraction
  5. break
  6. bit
  7. disintegrate
  8. scrap
Verb
  • What Could Move The Market? Several factors could disrupt the current market calm: European Tariff Deadline: President Trump has postponed the implementation of a 50% tariff on European Union goods to July 9, 2025.
    — Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
  • An extended pause in scheduling student visas could lead to delays that may disrupt college, boarding-school or exchange students’ plans to enroll in summer and fall terms.
    — Annie Ma, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2025
Definition of disrupt
Noun
  • Mazzoli created a lush score that was alternately sweeping or intimate, sensuous or mystical, yet with a distinctive sound that was her own weaving a thread through the piece.
    — Janelle Gelfand, Cincinnati.com, 19 July 2017
  • This is why the war stories of Tom Clancy are such convincing and moving pieces of fiction.
    — Janine Barchas, Washington Post, 18 July 2017
Definition of piece
Verb
  • His left orbital bone and right cheekbone were also fractured, among other injuries.
    — Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 31 May 2025
  • Meanwhile, the civil-rights movement split the Democratic coalition—its Southern wing peeled off, never to return—and Vietnam fractured the liberals.
    — Louis Menand, New Yorker, 26 May 2025
Definition of fracture
Noun
  • Meanwhile, all public agricultural research and development focused on the climate in the U.S. is a fraction of Apple’s R&D, as if farming weren’t nearly as important as a better iPhone camera.
    — Michael Grunwald, The Atlantic, 3 June 2025
  • His country remains one of the poorest in Asia: a quarter of the population lives near the subsistence level, foreign trade is minimal, and its GDP is a small fraction of South Korea’s.
    — John Delury, Foreign Affairs, 3 June 2025
Definition of fraction
Verb
  • Ventura Fine testified that Clark was aware Combs had allegedly threatened to release explicit footage of her, while Cudi said Clark was the one who told him Combs had allegedly broken into his Los Angeles home after learning of his relationship with Ventura Fine.
    — Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 28 May 2025
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed a trilateral meeting between himself, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Russian President Vladimir Putin to break the deadlock on ending Moscow's invasion.
    — Shane Croucher John Feng, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 May 2025
Definition of break
Noun
  • Don't load it up with more than 8 pounds of gear though, and avoid anything with pointy bits, as there's no padding here.
    — Scott Gilbertson, Wired News, 25 May 2025
  • Located in Key West, Duval Street serves up a little bit of everything: live music, art galleries, open-air cafes, and a nonstop, come-as-you-are vibe.
    — Symiah Dorsey, Southern Living, 24 May 2025
Definition of bit
Verb
  • Mohammadi works with materials that disintegrate, for instance halva, soap, letting their ephemerality echo the fragility of memory.
    — Nargess Banks, Forbes.com, 26 May 2025
  • Toward the end of the movie, Bob’s house of shame disintegrates.
    — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 24 May 2025
Definition of disintegrate
Noun
  • In 2018, inspired by this culture of bricolage, curator Danni Friedman and designer Jean Lee gathered a group of designers in Havana for a ten-day workshop, turning them loose in an old shipyard factory filled with clay, concrete mix, scrap metal, and assorted junk.
    — Glenn Adamson, Artforum, 1 June 2025
  • Wang Cong Closing out the UFC 316 early prelims is a women’s flyweight scrap between Ariane da Silva (17-10) and Wang Cong (7-1).
    — Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
Definition of scrap

Browse Nearby Words

fragility
fragment
fragmental
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fragment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fragment. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on fragment

Nglish: Translation of fragment for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

'Bring' vs. 'Take'

Is it 'used to' or 'use to'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language

10 Hella Good U.S. Regionalisms

Some Data About 'Datum'

The Clinical History of 'Moron,' 'Idiot,' and 'Imbecile'
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All