vivisect

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

/ ˈvɪv əˌsɛkt, ˌvɪv əˈsɛkt /

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verb (used with object)

to dissect the living body of (an animal).

verb (used without object)

to practice vivisection.

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Origin of vivisect

First recorded in 1860–65; back formation from vivisection

OTHER WORDS FROM vivisect

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

Words nearby vivisect

vivid, vividly, vivification, vivify, viviparous, vivisect, vivisection, vivisectionist, vivo, Vivyan, vixen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use vivisect in a sentence

Mason-wasps deliberately vivisect spiders, which are insects extremely tenacious of life.
Furze the Cruel|John Trevena
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
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
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

He is not allowed to try his germs and specifics upon them; he is not allowed to vivisect them.
Damn!|Henry Louis Mencken

British Dictionary definitions for vivisect

vivisect

/ (ˈvɪvɪˌsɛkt, ˌvɪvɪˈsɛkt) /

verb

to subject (an animal) to vivisection

Derived forms of vivisect

vivisector, 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