dissect

American  

[dih-sekt, dahy-] / dɪˈsɛkt, daɪ- /

verb (used with object)

1. to cut apart (an animal body, plant, etc.) to examine the structure, relation of parts, or the like.

   Synonyms:

   anatomize

2. to examine minutely part by part; analyze.

   to dissect an idea.

   Synonyms:

   anatomize

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dissect British  

/ dɪˈsɛkt, daɪ- /

verb

1. to cut open and examine the structure of (a dead animal or plant)

2. (tr) to examine critically and minutely

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dissect Scientific  

/ dĭ-sĕkt′,dī′sĕkt′ /

1. To cut apart or separate body tissues or organs, especially for anatomical study.

2. In surgery, to separate different anatomical structures along natural lines by dividing the connective tissue framework.

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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

She whet his palate with detailed reports dissecting the southern Italian dialect spoken by his grandmother.

From The Wall Street Journal

But when they beat the Chargers on the opening weekend of the playoffs, Vrabel wasn’t looking to dissect whether or not the team had proven itself against top-shelf competition.

From The Wall Street Journal

I had to dissect that because it was kind of unreal.

From Los Angeles Times

I spoke with a few coffee experts to dissect what “fibermaxxing” our coffee entails:

From Salon

He carefully dissects what they said and what they likely meant.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• examine
• explore
• inspect
• investigate
• scrutinize