analyse
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to examine in detail in order to discover meaning, essential features, etc
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to break down into components or essential features
to analyse a financial structure
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to make a mathematical, chemical, grammatical, etc, analysis of
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another word for psychoanalyse
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of analyse
C17: back formation from analysis
Explanation
To analyse (analyze is U.S. English) something is to consider it in detail so you can figure out its workings or meaning. Analyse comes from Greek roots meaning "loosen." If you analyse something, it's as if you're untying it and letting the different parts separate so that you can study them. If you've got some mystery substance, you can analyse it by performing chemical reactions to break it into its parts. If you analyse a poem, you look at it word-by-word and even sound-by-sound. But remember that analyse is a British spelling, with analyze as the American version.
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.
See Examples For:
"We need to analyse what we can do better and try to move on."
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
This less fixed style is more difficult to analyse from the outside looking in, which can result in misunderstanding his work entirely.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
"It would be exciting to also obtain this material to analyse it in my laboratory," she says.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
"We analyse that something is physically strong enough, it's well built enough to survive this environment, it's going to have the traction to drive in this environment," he explained.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
However, it had not been my intention to analyse here the various facets of this small episode from years ago.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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For the consultancy's 2026 AI Jobs Barometer, external, it analysed 2.4 million entry-level jobs in the US.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
They found all five nucleobases in the two Ryugu samples they analysed, in roughly similar amounts.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 3, 2026
For their study, the scientists at King's College London analysed 12 raw or uncooked fresh foods - beetroot, bell pepper, broccoli, butternut squash, cauliflower, celeriac, curly kale, fennel, kiwi fruit, leek, pineapple and watermelon.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
It is the result of two years of research by the FA in conjunction with Liverpool John Moores University, where over 400 games from under-6 to under-14 level were analysed.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
I cannot remember to what extent I analysed this feeling at the time, but today, looking back on it, it does not seem so difficult to account for.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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The technology is transforming the work of historians not only by decoding documents, but also by analysing millions of medieval manuscripts or helping read ancient scrolls.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
And by analysing the chemistry of these mudstones, we could determine whether oxygen was present in the ancient seawater.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026
Pangram claims it is able to "detect AI text by analysing and understanding subtle cues in the writing".
From Barron's ● Sep. 25, 2026
Critics of Pangram and other AI-detectors say they are unreliable – with different programmes often giving different results after analysing the same texts.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
But still, although even Littleton does not countenance the classification I am now analysing, it seems to me that some of his remarks may have given origin to the prevalent misconception on the subject.
From Villainage in England Essays in English Mediaeval History by Paul Vinogradoff
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