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.

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vivisection British  

/ ˌvɪvɪˈsɛkʃən /

noun

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

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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.

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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.

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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

Dahl’s wit may be mostly used for emotional vivisection, but it still glitters.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2023

Peter Morgan’s popular vivisection of the British royal family, back for its fifth season on Netflix after a two-year wait, has consumed more than its share of pixels, including three feature articles in this newspaper.

From New York Times • Nov. 9, 2022

She rejected vaccination and vivisection and moved toward spiritualism.

From Washington Post • Feb. 4, 2021

Men sneered at vivisection, and yet look at its results to-day!

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

Related Words

• postmortem