fragmentary

[ frag-muh n-ter-ee ]

/ ˈfræg mənˌtɛr i /

consisting of or reduced to fragments; broken; disconnected; incomplete: fragmentary evidence; fragmentary remains.

Origin of fragmentary

First recorded in 1605–15; fragment + -ary

frag·men·tar·i·ly, adverb frag·men·tar·i·ness, noun

The Lotus and the Storm turns out to be a grand, haunted melodrama with elements of camp, delivered in fragmentary reveries.

A Different Kind of Vietnam Story |J.T. Price |October 9, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Literature has been in a plundered, fragmentary state for a long time.

Bob Dylan’s ‘Da Vinci Code’ Revealed |Chris Francescani |May 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Francis Watson argued that all of the fragmentary sentences preserved on the papyrus are also found in the Gospel of Thomas.

The ‘Gospel of Jesus’s Wife’ is Still as Big a Mystery as Ever |Candida Moss |April 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I took phone calls from the field, with fragmentary updates.

The First American: Excerpt from Henry Crumpton’s ‘The Art of Intelligence’ |Henry A. Crumpton |May 14, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

All officials stressed the fragmentary nature of the threat information to date.

Terror Threat Interrogation Underway |Eli Lake |September 10, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
Mrs. Morris then proceeded to give in fragmentary speeches an outline of the constitution and government of the estate.

Desperate Remedies |Thomas Hardy
This dry, fragmentary snow is still further prepared for the formation of banners by the action of the wind.

Wisconsin in Story and Song; |Various
There is a representation; it is inexact, because it is fragmentary and momentary.

A Night in the Luxembourg |Remy De Gourmont
Some were nearly intact, while others were fragmentary and represented by only a few of the more durable and indigestible parts.

Life History and Ecology of the Five-lined Skink, Eumeces fasciatus |Henry S. Fitch
Such advice will not serve as a screen if based on a fragmentary, incomplete statement of facts.

Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman |Albert Sidney Bolles

fragmentary

/ (ˈfræɡməntərɪ, -trɪ) /

made up of fragments; disconnected; incomplete Also: fragmental

fragmentarily, adverb fragmentariness, noun