anatomize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cut apart (an animal or plant) to show or examine the position, structure, and relation of the parts; display the anatomy of; dissect.
-
to examine in great detail; analyze minutely.
The couple anatomized their new neighbor.
verb
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to dissect (an animal or plant)
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to examine in minute detail
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of anatomize
1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French anatomiser or < Medieval Latin anatomizāre. See anatomy, -ize
Vocabulary lists containing anatomize
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:
They make their lives from the bits of gender and love and culture they’ve been given, and there’s no place to stand outside that messy process and anatomize, dissect or categorize them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2021
Vargas Llosa knows how the levers of power in his country work, and he uses his story to anatomize the degradation of civic life under Fujimori.
From New York Times ● Mar. 13, 2018
They anatomize sunspots by way of US astronomer George Ellery Hale, who pioneered their observation with his 1889 invention of the spectroheliograph.
From Nature ● Jul. 18, 2017
Leigh’s work has largely been focused on contemporary ensemble pieces that anatomize British society, made in collaboration with a dedicated repertory of actors who fashion each film from an intensive process of improvised rehearsals.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 26, 2014
Who shall anatomize motives, or who shall be skilful enough to trace the springs of one human emotion?
From The Martins Of Cro' Martin, Vol. I (of II) by Charles James Lever
British novelist John le Carré, who anatomized Cold War spycraft and sometimes even influenced it, has died after a short illness at the age of 89.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2020
The show proceeds as a sustained, cryptic, circular apologia pro vita sua, in which childhood tragedies and grown-up losses in love are anatomized like corpses in a forensic lab.
From New York Times ● Nov. 12, 2018
The conclusion to “American Notes,” of 1842, a book that won him few friends in the land that he had toured, anatomized what he had found there:
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 10, 2016
Her guitar tone is produced warmly, which makes one feel comforted even if they’re being emotionally anatomized.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 9, 2015
Anabptists anatomized and silenced: or a dispute with Master Tombs, by Mr. J. Crag: where all may receive cleare satisfaction in that controversie, the best extant.
Mr. Harbach has likely exposed himself to criticism by anatomizing feminist politics and assuming the perspectives of 20-something coeds, though I think his characterizations are generous and insightful.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
Stephen Karam’s Tony-winning play reached us with most of the original cast intact, including Reed Birney and Jayne Houdyshell, who reprised their Tony-winning performances in this family drama anatomizing the precarious plight of middle-class Americans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2018
It’s a great environment for anatomizing an uncommonly thoughtful family, which is held together by Marshall’s softly determined Barbara.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 9, 2015
Since his debut at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, critics have enjoyed anatomizing Xavier Dolan’s manic yet sublime style.
From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2015
But anatomizing their anguish, these creatures finally decided that it might not be spring fever, but merely hunger.
From Plum Pudding Of Divers Ingredients, Discreetly Blended & Seasoned by Christopher Morley
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