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Synonyms

vivisection

American  
[viv-uh-sek-shuhn] / ˌvɪv əˈsɛk ʃən /

noun

  1. the action of cutting into or dissecting a living body.

  2. the practice of subjecting living animals to cutting operations, especially in order to advance physiological and pathological knowledge.

vivisection British  
/ ˌvɪvɪˈsɛkʃən /

noun

  1. the act or practice of performing experiments on living animals, involving cutting into or dissecting the body

"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
vivisection Scientific  
/ vĭv′ĭ-sĕk′shən /

  1. The practice of examining internal organs and tissues by cutting into or dissecting a living animal, especially for the purpose of scientific research.

vivisection Cultural  

  1. The cutting up or dissection of animals, including anesthetized live animals, in scientific research. Vivisection is also a general term for the use of animals as subjects in laboratory experiments, especially in the development of new medical techniques and drugs.

Discover More

Vivisection, as well as the general use of animals in medical research, is a target of protest by animal rights advocates.

Other Word Forms

  • vivisectional adjective
  • vivisectionally adverb

Etymology

Origin of vivisection

First recorded in 1700–10; vivi- + section

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.

This is the gift “I Know This Much Is True” offers, a lengthy, lyrical vivisection of intertwined lives made of epic woe.

From Salon

“Murderland” is a superb and disturbing vivisection of our darkest urges, this summer’s premier nonfiction read.

From Los Angeles Times

Among the horrors he described were vivisections performed without anesthesia on those who had been deliberately administered germs; doctors wanted to see firsthand how the ensuing diseases infected the body.

From New York Times

Unit 731 is also believed to have performed vivisections and frozen prisoners to death in tests of endurance.

From Seattle Times

The title essay is arguably her masterpiece, a cool vivisection of a place and time when the center fell apart.

From Los Angeles Times

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.