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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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use vivisect in a sentence

Strindberg is known as perhaps the most ferocious and skilful vivisector of the human soul.
Impressions And Comments|Havelock Ellis
A locked enclosure on a lonely island, a notorious vivisector, and these crippled and distorted men?
The Island of Doctor Moreau|H. G. Wells
A cobra's bite hurts so little that the creature is almost, legally speaking, a vivisector who inflicts no pain.
The Doctor's Dilemma: Preface on Doctors|George Bernard Shaw
The object of the sportsman is to kill, and the object of the vivisector is to keep his victim alive while he cuts it up.
Experiments on Animals|Stephen Paget

Had I known you were a vivisector, I should not only have refused to marry you, I should have declined to associate with you.
The Beth Book|Sarah Grand

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