noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The act of fragmenting or something fragmented; disintegration. countable, uncountable
2. 2
   separating something into fine particles wordnet
3. 3
   The process by which fragments of an exploding bomb scatter. countable, uncountable
4. 4
   the scattering of bomb fragments after the bomb explodes wordnet
5. 5
   The breaking up and dispersal of a file into non-contiguous areas of a disk. countable, uncountable

Show 10 more definitions

6. 6
   (computer science) the condition of a file that is broken up and stored in many different locations on a magnetic disk wordnet
7. 7
   The breaking up of a data packet when larger than the transmission unit of a network. countable, uncountable
8. 8
   the disintegration of social norms governing behavior and thought and social relationships wordnet
9. 9
   A form of asexual reproduction or cloning where an organism splits into one or more pieces. Those pieces then become new individuals. countable, uncountable
10. 10
    the process of splitting into several pieces or fragments, which is useful for a cell during both DNA cloning and apoptosis. countable, uncountable
11. 11
    the dissociation of energetically unstable molecular ions formed from passing the molecules mass spectrum. countable, uncountable
12. 12
    the an operation that breaks of solid matter in a body part into pieces, such as kidney stones countable, uncountable
13. 13
    the organization of production into different stages, which are divided among different suppliers often are located in different countries. countable, uncountable
14. 14
    the use of fragments or the "division of a musical idea into segments". countable, uncountable
15. 15
    the absence or underdevelopment of connections between a society and the grouping of certain of its members. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

abrasionatomisationatomizationatomizationattritionbalkanization

Antonyms

All antonyms

defragmentation

Example

More examples

"There are many theories as to what caused the fall and fragmentation of the Roman Empire."

Etymology

From fragment + -ation.

Related phrases

Beckmann fragmentationEschenmoser fragmentationfragmentation bombfragmentation grenade

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.