fragmentative

Fragmentative is an adjective describing something that tends to fragment or is composed of fragments. It characterizes processes, outputs, or descriptions that emphasize pieces rather than a single, continuous whole. The term is closely related to fragmentary, but fragmentative is far less common in everyday usage and appears mainly in critical or analytical writing to stress a mode of fragmentation.

Etymology and usage notes: fragmentative is formed from the noun fragment with the suffix -ative, following a pattern similar to other English adjectives that indicate a tendency or mode. It is typically employed to draw attention to a method, structure, or style that privileges discrete elements over cohesion.

In literature and the arts, fragmentative describes devices that present material as discrete fragments—snippets of text, images, scenes, or voices—arranged without a seamless, linear progression. This approach is often linked to experimental or postmodern practices, where meaning emerges from juxtaposition, collage, or interrupted narratives rather than from a conventional plot or argument.

In philosophy or cognitive science, the term may be used informally to discuss fragmentary experience or memory. However, fragmentative is not a standard technical term in these fields; more common alternatives include fragmentary, piecemeal, or discontinuous when describing data, memory, or reasoning.

See also: fragmentary, fragmentation, collage, montage, mosaic, discontinuity, postmodernism.