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.
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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
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
As tech bloggers ripped open the latest iPhone to anatomize its guts, a ritual known as a “teardown,” you could sense deflation.
From Forbes ● Oct. 9, 2013
The town of Mansoul is well known to many, Nor are her troubles doubted of by any That are acquainted with those histories That Mansoul and her wars anatomize.
From Bunyan by James Anthony Froude
Over the last quarter-century, the book as physical organism has been increasingly anatomized, and there has been no better medium for displaying anatomists’ findings than the book itself.
From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2022
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 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
We want not to see water anatomized; the Alps may be tomahawked and scalped by geologists, yet may they be sorry painters.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXVI. October, 1843. Vol. LIV. by Various
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
The anatomizing of the dead lion finds numerous analogies in those myths and fairy tales in which dismemberment of the body appears.
From Hidden Symbolism of Alchemy and the Occult Arts by Smith Ely Jelliffe
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