analytical
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of analytical
First recorded in 1520–30; from Late Latin analyticus analytic ( def. ) + -al 1 ( def. )
Explanation
What do Sherlock Holmes and Albert Einstein have in common? (No, this is not the start of a joke.) They were both analytical — meaning they were good at breaking down problems into smaller parts to find solutions. The adjective, analytical, and the related verb analyze can both be traced back to the Greek verb, analyein — "to break up, to loosen." If you are analytical, you are good at taking a problem or task and breaking it down into smaller elements in order to solve the problem or complete the task. The opposite type of problem-solving is called the intuitive approach in which a person senses the correct action to take without proof or reasoning. Analytic can be substituted for analytical in this sense.
Vocabulary lists containing analytical
"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade 11)
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Ungifted
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The study is published in the journal Analytical Chemistry.
From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2024
Olympic Analytical Laboratory, which he started two years before the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and led until 2007.
From New York Times • Feb. 15, 2024
The federal employee chapter of the nearly 300-page Analytical Perspectives, a narrative section of the budget released Monday, outlines his four-point strategy “to strengthen and empower the Federal workforce.”
From Washington Post • Mar. 16, 2023
Researchers from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment and the Chemical and Veterinary Analytical Institute ran an experiment with ten lactating Holstein Friesian dairy cows divided into two groups.
From Salon • Nov. 25, 2022
The Conservation Analytical Laboratory found the lancet to be made of a silver-copper alloy with an iron or steel lever release.
From Bloodletting Instruments in the National Museum of History and Technology by Appel, Toby
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
