fragmentarily
- adverb
- /ˌfræɡˈmɛntɛrɪli/
- The report was written fragmentarily, jumping from one point to another without clear connections.
Examples
-
As refugees from the desert, in both a physical and cultural sense, they briefly and fragmentarily became acquainted with civilization.
Academic text (1992) -
His memories of the trip came back fragmentarily, like pieces of a puzzle that didn't quite fit together.
-
One is more likely to assimilate movie narratives of the 1930s, say, fragmentarily, as they alternately close off and open themselves to us.
Academic text (1993) -
The texts are strongly episodic and fragmentarily constructed, and everyday, organic, and chronological time is subverted.
Academic text (1999) -
She told the story fragmentarily, leaving out important details that made it hard to understand.
Synonyms
Partly done and not finished
In a rough, incomplete way that lacks detail
In a way that is not connected and is hard to follow
Happens without a clear connection or smooth flow
In a way that divides something into parts
Antonyms
How Fragmented
Surface Forms
Morphology
fragmentarily = fragmentary (transparent) = fragment + ary + ly
The adverb is formed regularly from the adjective 'fragmentary' with the productive suffix '-ly'; the adjective itself is transparently formed from 'fragment' + '-ary'.
Etymology
Fragmentarily comes from the word fragment, which originally comes from the old root frangere meaning 'to break'. So to do something fragmentarily is to do it 'in pieces' or 'in separate parts', which is why it means 'incomplete' or 'made of separate parts'.