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:
The Jewish way of thinking "helped me to analyse the conflict and what I wanted to do, and how I want to be involved in this conflict in a different way", he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
During his tenure as defence minister, Fedorov was credited with energising the ministry, heading a drive against corruption and using data to analyse and try to improve performance on the front line.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
"We have a good chemistry. We don't over analyse it."
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Due to a lack of publicly available data, we were unable to analyse festival accommodation costs at university-run establishments.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The descriptive sort of linguist tends to observe change in the language, note it, analyse it and manage not to wake up screaming every night.
From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author
At least 15 attacks were reported since the start of the year, according to reports from the IMO's Global Integrated Shipping Information System analysed by AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
BBC Verify analysed the 94 second-long clip, which showed the car driving on footpaths and parkland in Ormesby, Middlesbrough, with Saddington a rear-seat passenger.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
The researchers analysed their ageing organoids with three different kinds of recently developed genetic "clocks" that can roughly determine the biological age of cells.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
We analysed the average price of the cheapest ticket at the six August festivals - nearly 600,000 shows since between 2016 and 2026 - to explore if prices have changed over the last decade.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
He would thus have been familiar with the basic principle that objects appear smaller as they recede into the distance, a principle analysed by Euclid, and familiar in the Middle Ages.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
In analysing this data, BBC Verify removed any clear incidents of arson, as well as any incidents that related to mobility scooters.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
After analysing the debris from the crash, Bulgaria's defence ministry however said that "currently, nothing suggests that this was a deliberate incident".
From Barron's ● Aug. 8, 2026
Authorities in Seoul and Washington were analysing the missile's exact specifications, it added in a message to news organisations.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
The short, dramatic flash it created would have been hard to catch by amateur astronomers even with high-end telescopes, but larger observatories in the Americas are analysing the information.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Practice in analysing stories will soon make the framework of each clear to you.
From The Lure of the Pen A book for Would-Be Authors by Flora Klickmann
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.
