verb
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to cut open and examine the structure of (a dead animal or plant)
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(tr) to examine critically and minutely
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To cut apart or separate body tissues or organs, especially for anatomical study.
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In surgery, to separate different anatomical structures along natural lines by dividing the connective tissue framework.
Other Word Forms
- dissectible adjective
- dissection noun
- dissector noun
- redissect verb (used with object)
- self-dissecting adjective
Etymology
Origin of dissect
1600–10; < Latin dissectus (past participle of dissecāre to cut up), equivalent to dis- dis- 1 + sec- cut + -tus past participle suffix
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.
The kids took to TikTok and Instagram to dissect every awful thing Banks and the rest did in the name of goosing ratings, with many wondering why its audience barely blinked at its endless exploitation.
From Salon
"It is not the same to have your entire self debated, ripped apart, dissected, insulted, trampled on in this chamber and more widely as though it were a mere abstract question," he said.
From BBC
Unlike memorable judging furors from the 1990s and 2000s, this time there was social media for angry fans to dissect videos and zoom in on every potential misstep.
“My mother loved dissecting politics through Chinese astrology,” she says.
From Los Angeles Times
She whet his palate with detailed reports dissecting the southern Italian dialect spoken by his grandmother.
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.
