analytic

American  

[an-l-it-ik] / ˌæn lˈɪt ɪk /

Also analytical

adjective

1. pertaining to or proceeding by analysis (opposed to synthetic).

2. skilled in or habitually using analysis.

3. (of a language) characterized by a relatively frequent use of function words, auxiliary verbs, and changes in word order to express syntactic relations, rather than of inflected forms.

4. Logic. (of a proposition) necessarily true because its denial involves a contradiction, as “All husbands are married.”

5. Mathematics.

   1. (of a function of a complex variable) having a first derivative at all points of a given domain; holomorphic; regular.

   2. (of a curve) having parametric equations that represent analytic functions.

   3. (of a proof ) using analysis.

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analytic British  

/ ˌænəˈlɪtɪkəl, ˌænəˈlɪtɪk /

adjective

1. relating to analysis

2. capable of or given to analysing

   an analytic mind

3. Also: isolating.  linguistics denoting languages, such as Chinese, whose morphology is characterized by analysis Compare synthetic agglutinative polysynthetic

4. logic

   1. true by virtue of the meanings of the words alone without reference to the facts, as all spinsters are unmarried

   2. true or false by virtue of meaning alone; so all spinsters are married is analytically false Compare synthetic a priori

5. Also: regular.   holomorphic.  maths (of a function of a complex variable) having a derivative at each point of its domain

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Other Word Forms

• nonanalytic
  adjective
• nonanalytical
  adjective
• overanalytic
  adjective
• overanalytical
  adjective
• semianalytic
  adjective
• semianalytical
  adjective
• unanalytic
  adjective
• unanalytical
  adjective
• analytically
  adverb
• nonanalytically
  adverb
• overanalytically
  adverb
• semianalytically
  adverb
• unanalytically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of analytic

First recorded in 1580–90; from Medieval Latin analȳticus, from Greek analȳtikós, from analy- ( see analysis) + -tikos -tic

Explanation

If you have an analytic mind, you are good at using logic to figure things out. You don't let emotion sway you. Doctors are trained to think in this way, as are scientists and engineers. Analytic derives from analysis, which means a thorough and detailed dissection of an object or an idea. Being analytic means that you think things through carefully and thoroughly. It may be more fun to fly by the seat of your pants and make all your decisions based on your gut instinct, but in the end, being analytic is safer.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

analytic

Whipped up and given a sheen of analytic legitimacy by the Maven, military officials did not do their due diligence in the midst of hundreds of similar, simultaneous strikes.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

Modern analytic tools, in particular methods introduced in 2009 to sequence the genetic material of individual mammalian cells, have revealed how pervasive these changes are.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

“I’d been an analytic, left-brain person all my life, and as a search executive I had to conform to what my clients wanted,” Cook says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026

But its analytic corps is structured in a way that flips that government stereotype on its head: Each CIA analyst is essentially an independent investigator.

From Slate ● Jul. 4, 2025

The subject that grew out of this critical insight, analytic geometry, is essential to understanding calculus; yet our students are coming out of high school unable to graph straight lines or parabolas.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Related Words

• analytical
• investigative