na-adjective, noun
incoherent; chaotic; disjointed
Almost exclusively used in the compound 支離滅裂 (しりめつれつ), meaning completely incoherent or utterly disjointed. Rarely appears alone.
彼の説明は支離滅裂で、何を言っているのかわからなかった。
His explanation was completely incoherent; I couldn't understand what he was saying.
「滅裂」という語は、単独ではほとんど使われず、「支離滅裂」の
The word 滅裂 is almost never used alone; it appears as part of 支離滅裂.
The full compound meaning 'completely incoherent' or 'utterly disjointed'; 滅裂 alone is rare and mostly seen as part of this word.
The exact derivation is uncertain; the kanji 滅 (destroy) and 裂 (split) suggest a state of being broken apart and disordered. The word is almost always used in the compound 支離滅裂.