vivisect

[ viv-uh-sekt, viv-uh-sekt ]

/ ˈvɪv əˌsɛkt, ˌvɪv əˈsɛkt /

verb (used with object)

to dissect the living body of (an animal).

verb (used without object)

to practice vivisection.

Nearby words

vividly, vivien, vivification, vivify, viviparous, vivisect, vivisection, vivisectionist, vivo, vivyan, vixen

Origin of vivisect

First recorded in 1860–65; back formation from vivisection

Related formsviv·i·sec·tor, nounself-viv·i·sec·tor, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for vivisect

The man who can vivisect an emotion, and lay bare a heart-beat in print, knows a subtle joy.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great Philosophers, Volume 8|Elbert Hubbard
He is not allowed to try his germs and specifics upon them; he is not allowed to vivisect them.
Damn!|Henry Louis Mencken
To do any great thing with the heart of another, you must vivisect your own, and this truth Theodora had to practise continually.
A Reconstructed Marriage|Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
Whether they vivisect painfully or painlessly, they are trying to find out whether the truth is there or not.
Eugenics and Other Evils|G. K. Chesterton

To stand within the protection which her sex afforded and vivisect anew his tired soul?
Carmen Ariza|Charles Francis Stocking

British Dictionary definitions for vivisect

vivisect

/ (ˈvɪvɪˌsɛkt, ˌvɪvɪˈsɛkt) /

verb

to subject (an animal) to vivisection

Derived Formsvivisector, noun

Word Origin for vivisect

C19: back formation from vivisection

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for vivisect

vivisect

1859, back-formation from vivisection. Related: Vivisected; vivisecting.