anatomize

American  

[uh-nat-uh-mahyz] / əˈnæt əˌmaɪz /

especially British, anatomise

verb (used with object)

anatomized, anatomizing

1. to cut apart (an animal or plant) to show or examine the position, structure, and relation of the parts; display the anatomy of; dissect.

2. to examine in great detail; analyze minutely.

   The couple anatomized their new neighbor.

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anatomize British  

/ əˈnætəˌmaɪz /

verb

1. to dissect (an animal or plant)

2. to examine in minute detail

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Other Word Forms

• anatomizable adjective
• anatomization noun
• anatomizer noun
• unanatomizable adjective
• unanatomized adjective

Etymology

Origin of anatomize

1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French anatomiser or < Medieval Latin anatomizāre. See anatomy, -ize

Example Sentences

With the pandemic-set parent-child drama “The Falls,” the prolific director pulls back from the novelistic scope of its predecessor to anatomize the evolution of an estranged bond made whole again.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2022

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

This is big-picture theater, which takes a long view down the corridors of power to anatomize the psyches of the men and women who determine the fate of nations.

From New York Times • Nov. 4, 2016

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

To probe the stars was to him a simpler process than to anatomize the globe upon which he stood.

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 17, No. 097, January, 1876 by Various